Deathless Metal Given Life
by Alternivity
Summary: A strange young man is brought to Ozpin's door, with unique abilities and an unclear origin, he presents an opportunity to shift the balance in humanity's favor, but only if he can find his place in a world he doesn't understand.
1. Arrival

**Ozpin's office - Arrival of Amity Stadium and Ironwood's Fleet**

Glynda Goodwitch sighed as she looked out at the small fleet of Atlesian airships, and their complement of bullhead fighters, "Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work with him wherever he travels."

Ozpin tipped his head in acknowledgement, "Well, running an academy and a military makes him a busy man.

"But yes, those are an eyesore."

Ozpin looked at the terminal in his desk, notifying him that there was someone at his door, turning to the door, he called, "Come in."

"Ozpin!" Ironwood greeted, entering the office.

"Hello, General," he replied politely, approaching the man.

"Please, drop the formalities," Ironwood requested, "it's been too long." He turned to Glynda, "And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."

Her face lit up, tone sickly sweet, "Oh, James!" her expression returned to its usual stern scowl, "I'll be outside." She left the office without another word.

Ironwood shared a look with Ozpin, "Well, she hasn't changed a bit."

Ozpin returned to his desk, "So what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas?" he asked, pouring a piping hot drink into a mug on his desk, "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

Ozpin offered the mug to Ironwood, who nodded in thanks, "Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year," Ironwood reached into his jacket for a flask, pouring some of the contents into his mug, "besides, with you hosting, I thought that this might be a good opportunity for us to… catch up."

Ozpin strode to his chair pouring a mug for himself, "I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends, however, the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned."

"Concern is what brought them here," the general replied simply.

"I understand travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-"

Ironwood huffed, "Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men."

Ozpin sighed, "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true…"

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully. It's the Vytal Festival, a time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest that you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."

"I'm just being cautious."

Ozpin lowered his mug, "As am I. Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can."

Ironwood set his own mug down forcefully, "Believe me, I am." He turned to leave, "But ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?"

Ozpin mulled over the question, "I hope they never have to." He watched as Ironwood moved to leave, "James," the general turned to Ozpin, "I heard a fascinating rumor about you acquiring something interesting in Vacuan desert. Care to let me in on the secret?"

The general's eyes widened for an instant before a deep frown played across his face, "A team of my students on exchange with Shade encountered something during a live fire mission in the desert. They requested support from the academy, but we both know how they answered."

Ozpin sighed, "Indeed."

"So they called me. I redirected a scout unit in the area and extracted my students and a wounded individual."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "I hardly see anything unusual about a stranded civilian attacking someone in a delirious state. What makes this any different?"

"My students, a team of third years, were completely unable to touch him until he succumbed to wounds he sustained before my students encountered him."

"Hmm, and where is this individual now?"

"He's currently unconscious in the medbay of my flagship. I sent a small detachment to retrieve him from my scouts, and let the team return to their mission," Ironwood's scroll pinged, and he pulled it from his jacket, reading the message, "speaking of, it seems he's woken up," Ironwood looked to Ozpin, "I take it you'd like to meet my guest?"

Ozpin nodded, "If it's no trouble."

"None at all, in fact you may of some help in this case. We haven't been able to learn anything about who he is or where he came from."

"I don't see how I can be of any help, if even Atlas' extensive intelligence gathering services were unable to find any information on this man."

"I think it's best you see him for yourself."

Ozpin stood from his desk and walked toward the door, "By all means, James, lead on."

* * *

**Atlesian Flagship - Medical Center**

The two headmasters stood outside the room housing the odd young man, observing him through the window.

He was tall, towering head and shoulders over the medical staff despite sitting in the single chair in the room. A wild mop of steel colored hair tumbled down his back reaching his waist.

He was almost entirely bare save for a pair of briefs, his slim form covered by a chaotic spider web of scars and burns. His eyes were electric green, almost seeming to glow even in the bright light of the medical room.

Branded over the scars in the center of his chest was a symbol with a coffin shaped border surrounding a circle with five lines radiating from the lower half and a smaller half-circle resting above.

His marred face was impassive as the medical personnel poked and prodded at him, a small flicker of curiosity in his eyes as he watched them intently.

He was utterly silent in spite of frequent attempts by the nurses to glean any verbal response from him, he certainty understood what was being said, however, as he complied with requests to check his physical responses and reflexes.

Ironwood and Ozpin observed for a time as test after test was administered, until the lead doctor exited the room and approached them.

"General Ironwood, Headmaster Ozpin," both men shook her hand, "quite the specimen you've got here."

Ozpin turned back to the window, content to let the general talk with the doctor.

"The patient is in excellent health," the doctor began, "despite his frankly absurd physical appearance. What is interesting is that he has a healing factor rivaling some of the more common regenerative semblances but no aura."

Ozpin watched as the nurses cleared away the various pieces of testing equipment. The young man rose to his feet, revealing his true stature, his head almost brushing the ceiling as he made his way to the door.

He was intercepted by a nurse gently laying a hand on his midriff, speaking and gesturing toward the bed in one corner of the room.

This spurred Ozpin into action, he casually strode to the door and entered the room, the young man's eyes immediately locking onto him and flickering across his form.

Ozpin made his way to the bed, sitting down and gesturing to the chair, "Why don't you take a seat, young man, let us talk."

The young man's face seemed etched in stone as he nodded and returned to the chair.

"The doctor told me that you didn't answer any of the questions you were asked, why is that?"

A blank stare was his only answer.

"I know that you can understand what I am saying, so perhaps you are simply unable to speak. Is that the case?"

A small shake of his head answered Ozpin.

"No? Then maybe you are refusing to speak, hmm?"

The young man gave a single nod.

"I see, is it an injury perhaps? One that makes it uncomfortable to speak?"

He shook his head.

Ozpin thought for a moment, reconsidering his approach, before pulling out his scroll, "Do you know how to use one of these?" he offered it to the young man, who reached over and lifted it delicately with his long fingers.

Sitting back in his seat, the young man cradled the scroll in one hand while the other hovered over it.

"Greetings Headmaster Ozpin," came a harsh synthetic voice.

Ozpin blinked in surprise, "I don't believe I introduced myself, how do you know who I am?"

"The doctor greeted you as such. This scroll is also registered to one 'Ozorius Pinto'."

The headmaster frowned, "I hope you haven't taken liberties with my private information. That would be rather… Problematic."

He shook his head, "I have interfaced with only the most surface level functions of this device in order to communicate with you."

Ozpin relaxed slightly, "I must admit, I am curious as to how you are doing that, as I understand it you have neither aura nor a semblance, yet you demonstrate a regenerative factor that outpaces most hunters, and the ability to interact with electronic devices by touch alone. Care to enlighten me?"

The young man's eyes lost focus and the scroll's screen began flickering between articles hosted on the CCT network.

A few moments later the his eyes honed in on Ozpin once more, "your public records do not contain any information on the ones that granted me these abilities. May I scan encrypted systems for any information?" the request was delivered without any change in his expression.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "For the time being, I think it best you avoid delving into the affairs of others, at least until we can confirm you pose no threat to us. Is that acceptable?"

The young man nodded, "I have no problems."

Ozpin sighed, "In the meantime, I think we may have strayed somewhat from the purpose of our conversation. Why don't we start over?

"I am Professor Ozpin, it's nice to meet you, what's your name?"

The young man was silent for a moment, "I do not have a name."

"Where do you come from?" Ozpin questioned.

"I do not recall, and can find no trace of my existence within your networks."

"Then is there anyone I can look for? A relative or a friend?"

"No. I am alone."

"Would you like to change that?" Ozpin asked, a plan forming.

"I do not understand."

"Do you want a family, friends, relationships with other people?"

He was quiet for almost a full minute before responding, his face like carved stone, "My emotions are no longer suppressed," Ozpin swore he heard a trace of shock in the false voice, "I find I do not want to be alone. I wish to… Belong."

* * *

**A/N: This is my first RWBY fic, so go easy on me. I don't actually have a name for the MC as yet, so any suggestions are welcome. I know he seems a bit OP but there are reasons for it that will come as more is learned about him and his past.**


	2. Introductions

**Atlesian Flagship - Ironwood's Quarters**

"I don't like this," Ironwood told Ozpin the moment he closed his door, "we have no idea what that boy is capable of. For crying out loud, he hacked your scroll just by touching it!"

"I agree, he is more than he seems," Ozpin responded, "but I don't believe he intends to hurt anyone.

"If he'd wished us harm, he could have easily made all our secrets public, or simply crashed this ship into the city walls."

That gave Ironwood pause. He stood and stepped over to a crystal decanter containing an amber liquor, and poured himself a glass, sipping it as he mulled over his options.

"What do you propose?" he eventually asked.

"As he said himself, he wants to belong, to make connections and form relationships. I'm thinking of assigning him to either miss Rose's team or the team of our candidate for the next Fall maiden," Ozpin paused, gaging Ironwood's reaction. "It would allow him to be a part of a group while also allowing us to make use of his abilities," he tacked on, seeing Ironwood was not convinced.

The general nodded hesitantly, for lack of a better idea, "Fine, but I want him on a short leash, one false step and he goes in a cell," he gave his ultimatum.

"Of course," Ozpin agreed casually, "in that case I'll get started on the paperwork. Could I trouble you to create an identity for him? It would troublesome to explain him simply appearing out of thin air."

Ironwood sighed, "I'll get it done, just make sure you keep him under control."

"You have my word."

With that Ozpin left to return to Beacon and begin the preparations for a new student.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Ozpin's Office**

"Are you sure about this?" Glynda questioned - as she often did - whether Ozpin truly had a plan.

"I have every confidence that he will become a great force for good, if given a reason to act. Right now he is alone and without direction, I aim to remedy that, give him a purpose."

The terminal in Ozpin's desk pinged, a file from General Ironwood.

Ozpin smiled as he read the name in the document, "Ridian Steele, fitting," he mused. "James certainly made sure to keep his background vague. No weapon listed either. This will do nicely."

Glynda sighed heavily, "I suppose I should fill out the appropriate forms to have him enrolled by mentorship recommendation?"

"That would be ideal, yes."

"What about a team? Surely you don't intend to have him operate as a lone wolf?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I was thinking perhaps team RWBY, they seem to have a knack for finding trouble, and an extra pair of eyes may just save them a lot of heartbreak," Ozpin suggested. "The other option would be to have him watch over our candidate for Autumn. Speaking of which, have we decided on who will take up the mantel?"

"Pyhrra Nikos has been selected by unanimous vote."

"I see. What are your thoughts on our options? Team RWBY or team JNPR?"

Glynda thought it over, "Why not both? The two teams are rather close, and if Ridian is to be believed, the more people he can interact with, the better."

"That would appear to be a good solution. See to it that he resides near both teams."

"Of course, is there anything else?"

Ozpin opened his mouth to dismiss the deputy headmistress, before remembering one more detail, "He'll need some clothes and several uniforms made to fit him. That should be everything for the moment, thank you Glynda."

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Landing Pads**

The following morning found Ozpin and Glynda waiting for the bullhead transport carrying their newest student.

A few paces behind them stood the two teams Ridian would be working alongside.

Ruby Rose was nervous, she and Jaune Arc, the leader of team JNPR, were asked to meet with Ozpin and Goodwitch at the landing pads before class.

"U-um professor Ozpin?" Ruby stammered.

"Yes, miss Rose?"

"Are we in trouble for the thing in the dining hall yesterday?"

"No," Ozpin said dismissively, "I've brought you all here to meet someone, a new student recommended to me by a trusted friend. Due to the unorthodox means by which he arrived, he has no team, as such he will be working side by side with your teams."

As he finished his explanation, the awaited bullhead came in to land.

All present looked on with interest as the passenger door opened.

The figure that stepped out was imposing. He made his way out from under the wing and straightened up.

He stood head and chest above most of the party, the tallest, Jaune, only reaching the middle of his chest.

He wore a pair of gunmetal cargo pants tucked into heavy boots, a black t-shirt with a dull green symbol in the center and a light gray canvas waistcoat with a myriad pockets covering it.

What skin was visible was covered by a webwork of scars and burns. Members of both teams were horrified by the extent of damage, nauseated by the amount of pain and suffering told by the marks.

A static-laced voice cut through the silence, "Greetings," it began, "I am Ridian Steele. I look forward to studying with you."

He walked up to the groupgroup and extended a hand. Ruby was the first to make a move, shuffling forward, looking as though he were about tear her head off.

His glowing green eyes scanned her before locking on to her shining silver eyes.

Ruby gingerly reached for the extended hand.

Her fingers barely spanned the width of Ridian's palm, his own wrapping gently around them.

Ruby stared at their hands, noting that his skin was pleasantly warm and soft, despite their marred appearance.

She looked back at his face, he watched her with a raised brow.

She yelped and jumped back. He blinked and pulled back, "Are you alright?" the strange voice asked with little inflection, "I did not intend to hurt you."

"N-no, you didn't hurt me!" she quickly shook her head, "I was just surprised is all. I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose. It's uh... Nice to meet you?"

"Well met Ruby-Ruby Rose," the voice responded.

Ruby sensed something was off, though she couldn't say what.

Behind her Yang struggled to suppress a snort. Apparently her efforts were in vain, as Ridian turned his focus on her, "Is something wrong?" he asked, his mouth unmoving.

In that moment Ruby understood what she had noticed, his voice didn't come from him, instead it seemed to come from all around them.

At the same time, Yang flustered, stuck between amused at Ridian's mistake and embarrassed at being caught in her amusement.

With his attention solely on Yang, Ruby took the opportunity to look at Ridian more closely, trying to work out how he spoke without speaking.

Her observations were interrupted when Jaune decided to offer his own greeting, "Uh, hi, my name's Jaune Arc, I'm the leader of team JNPR. These are my teammates," he gestured to them over his shoulder, "my partner, Pyhrra," she waved politely, "and the other two are Nora and Ren."

Ridian bowed his head slightly, "Well met, team JNPR. I hope we can work well together."

Jaune rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, uh, me too."

Ruby tuned out the conversation, still trying work out how Ridian was projecting his voice.

Her staring must have obvious, as Ridian turned his gaze upon her once more, "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, no mirth or malice in his tone.

"I was, y'know, wondering how you, um, how you're doing that with your voice?" she shrank away from his gaze, her face glowing in embarrassment.

"I am using the audio functions of your scrolls to project my words," he answered simply.

"Oh," Ruby blinked at the straightforward response. "Why?" she asked before she could stop herself, "Sorry, that's probably a really personal question, you don't have to answer."

Ridian cocked his head, "You have not asked anything inappropriate. I use scrolls to communicate as my voice has negative effects on those who hear it."

Ozpin and Glynda share a look, noting yet another oddity about their student.

"Okay, I guess that's a pretty good reason. Oh! I almost forgot! I'm the leader of team RWBY, Wiess is my partner, Yang's my big sister and Blake is her partner."

Ridian bowed his head to team RWBY, "Well met, team RWBY, may our battles be victories."

With the introductions complete Glynda stepped forward, "Team RWBY, team JNPR, you have been excused from your first class today," the two teams sighed in relief, having avoided one of Peter Port's mind numbing lectures. "However," Goodwitch continued, "you will still attend your other classes. Until then, I ask that you assist mister Steele in acquainting himself with the grounds, I have classes to teach, so I'll be leaving him in your care. Good day."

Glynda turned on her heel and walked briskly toward the sparring hall.

Ozpin sipped from the mug he held, "I'm afraid I must also take my leave, I hope to see you thrive here, Ridian Steele."


	3. Secrets

**Beacon Academy - Student Cafeteria**

RWBY and JNPR entered the massive dindining hall, eager to finally get something to eat.

Ridian followed closely, listening intently as Ruby regaled him with tales of her team's escapades, at least until the scent of cooked food struck his senses.

His head snapped to the source of the rapturous smell, his stomach roaring with a forgotten, primal urge.

"Whoa there, big guy," Yang laughed, "when was the last time you ate something?"

"I don't remember," was all the reply she got, Ridian already moving, his long legs making quick work of the distance between him and the waiting food.

It took all of Ridians self-restraint to hold off on simply diving into the array of displayed foodstuffs.

He barely caught Ruby grabbing a tray from the stack at the end of the counter.

He pulled himself away from the heavenly sights, and rapidly acquired his own tray, moving in behind Ruby, piling on anything that caught his eye.

Once he was satisfied with the amount of food on his tray, he turned to locate his new companions.

Quickly spotting a distinctive red cloak, Ridian walked over, placing his tray on the tabletable, before trying to fit his large frame into the too small benches.

After several failed attempts, Ridian finally sat down to eat, which he took to with alarming speed, even when compared with Nora's pancake eating technique.

"Honestly," Wiess huffed, watching with disdain, "you could stand to act with even the most basic decorum."

Ridian's expression never changed, but Wiess felt the glare in his eyes as they watched her warily, ready to attack if she tried to interfere with his meal.

His voice hissed from both teams scroll's, "I have not eaten in a very long time. My body was modified such that I did not need food or rest."

Eyes widened, gasps were heard and the table fell silent.

"Who did that to you?" Blake asked gently.

"My previous wardens, they saw no reason to waste resources or time feeding us."

"And where are these 'wardens' now?" Blake asked, scowling.

"Gone. Dead. I am uncertain of their ultimate fate, though I know that they are no longer able to affect anything."

"How do you know, though? How can you be sure?" she demanded.

"We turned on them, used their 'gifts' against them. I know we defeated them, but my recollection of the aftermath is unclear."

This time Pyhrra spoke up, "You said 'we'. Are there others like you?"

Ridian slowed his devouring, the first real sign of emotion he'd shown so far, "No. We could always sense one another, no matter the separation between us. I don't sense anything now."

"Oh Dust, I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" she cried, tears gathering in her and others' eyes.

This time Ridian stopped eating entirely, locking his gaze on Pyhrra, his expressionless face and glowing eyes making his gaze intimidating.

She began to apologize again, but was cut off by Ridian's synthetic voice, "How could you know?" he asked, "Is your semblace some type of telepathy? Clairvoyance? No? Then you know nothing of me but what I tell you."

His words were without inflection or emotion, but the intent was obvious. He was trying to ease Pyhrra's guilt.

Ridian watched Pyhrra for a moment before returning to his food as though nothing had happened.

No one else felt like asking him anything, and Ridian seemed content to continue eating.

Ruby was the first to break under the awkward tension, "So, Ridian," she began, pulling his eyes away from his meal, "what weapon do you use? I didn't see you carrying one earlier."

"I use whatever weapon best suits the situation."

"But you don't have any weapons on you. How do you use a whole bunch of them?"

"I kinda wanna know too," Yang added, "you don't exactly look like a brawler, too skinny."

"I admit, I am also curious," Wiess chimed in.

Ridian's eyes flicked to each person as they spoke, then to the others at the table who all nodded or agreed in some way or another, Nora being the most excited, "Ooh, ooh, do you use a giant hammer to smash everything?!"

Ridian's response was expectedly dull, but oddly vague, "It's best I show you, I will demonstrate once I finish eating."

RWBY and JNPR shared confused looks, wondering what other surprises would come out of their new teammate.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - ****Oobleck's Class**

Unfortunately, by the time Ridian had contented himself sampling everything the cafeteria offered, it was second period, history with Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck.

Walking into the lecture hall, Ridian was met with a wave of odd looks and hushed whispers, the rumor mill spinning into overdrive.

All of which he promptly ignored in favor of working out how to actually sit behind one of the stepped desks.

"Maybe you should sit on the steps," Ruby suggested, sheepishly, "I think that might be a bit more comfortable, and a lot easier."

He blinked, and considered her words for a moment, before simply taking a seat on the concrete steps next to the desk.

A few people snickered at Ridian's odd behavior, until the green blur that was doctor Oobleck entered the room.

He paused at the sight of Ridian, "Ah you must be our new student. Ridian Steele, yes?" Ridian nodded. "Very good, come and collect your textbook, please."

Ridian quickly made his way down to the doctor, who retrieved a slightly tattered textbook from his desk.

Oobleck handed the book over without ceremony, and Ridian returned to his step.

The class began, covering the colorful history of Mistral and the development of its odd caste hierarchy.

Ridian found himself fascinated, the people and cultures so different from what he could remember of his own, and resolved to study this new civilization he found himself a part of.

Meanwhile, others struggled to keep up with the breakneck pace the doctor set, most resigning themselves to work through the textbook for the information they needed.

Amongst those who gave up was Lie Ren, knowing it would be less effort to simply wait for Oobleck to give out the assigned readings for the class.

Instead, Ren observed the strange addition to his team, wondering what secrets hid behind those electric green eyes.

Eyes which flickered in time with Oobleck's blinding movements, locked on like a predator watching its prey, never waveringwavering, never losing track of their target.

It made Ren wonder just how fast Ridian's reflexes were, as even Ruby, whose semblance passively sharpened her perception, had difficulty tracking the energetic doctor.

An idea struck him, a foolish idea likely brought about by spending too much time with Nora.

As quietly as he could, Ren tore a blank page from his notebook, and began folding it into a small triangle.

Once done he subtly took aim at Ridian. Just before he took the shot, his scroll buzzed in his pocket.

Ren fished out his scroll and opened the screen, curious as to who would text him in class. What he saw sent goosebumps up his arms, the whole screen was white, and in the center were four small, intimidating, black letters, 'DON'T'.

Ren looked around the room, his instincts screaming danger, until his gaze settled on Ridian, who stared at him with that same damn emotionless face.

Ren couldn't pull his eyes away, until his scroll buzzed once more.

Looking down, Ren saw the messenger app was open with an unread message from Ridian, 'Apologies, I did not mean to frighten you.'

'How did know what I was doing?' Ren typed in return.

Another message, 'The girl behind you and to your left has her scroll out, I can see through the camera.'

'How? I thought you could only speak through our 2 teams scroll's?'

It took several seconds for Ridian's next response, 'I am able to interface with any device connected to the CCT network, provided I am in proximity to a network connected device. Currently I am accessing every device in this room via Blake's scroll.'

'Why?' was all Ren could ask.

'There are currently 20 students in this room discussing me. Their speculations are quite entertaining.'

Ren looked over at Ridian, who had returned his attention to the lecture.

Ren saw a potential glimpse into the strange boys mind, 'Is that so?' he probed, hoping Ridian would reveal a sliver of his personality.

'Indeed. The young lady in the front, with dirty blonde hair, believes that I am an Atlesian robot sent back in time to assassinate a future Valean general to ensure Atlas wins the next great war.'

Ren had to suppress a chuckle at that, 'She has quite the vivid imagination. Her name is Gayl something, I think she's from Vacuo.'

'Interesting. Her theory in particular surprised me. There's a saying, 'close but no cigar'. I find it most appropriate.'

Ren found the wording odd but ignored it, 'To be fair, I'd also assumed you were from Atlas.'

'I'm not. But I was referring the idea that I was a robot. Though not entirely true, I find it a fitting description for what I was before.'

Ren reread the message a few times to make sure he'd understood Ridian's words, 'I don't understand. Before what?'

'Before I woke up alone in the desert. It's best I explain to everyone at the same time. Perhaps after our classes are over for the day.'

Ren noted that this was only the second time he'd deflected a question, he usually answered questions in a blunt, honest manner. It made him wonder if perhaps his weaponry and his bizarre message were connected.

Ren sent several more messages to Ridian, though it appeared that he was no longer interested in conversation.

He remained unresponsive to anyone for the rest of the class.

And the entirety of the next.

And the next.

Everyone was worried about the sudden silence, asking at every opportunity if he was alright without success.

Then, somewhere along the way, Ridian simply walked off without anyone even realizing.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Cafeteria**

Ruby was beside herself when Ridian failed to appear at lunch, which in turn set Yang off.

"What's his deal?! He's supposed to be our teammate, but it took what, an hour, for him to decide we're not worth his time?!"

"Yang, we don't know that," Blake tried to be the voice of reason. "I don't think he's been treated like a person in a very long time. He may not even realize he's doing anything wrong."

Ren felt he should speak up in Ridian's defense, "I think he might be upset," he said.

"Why would he be upset?" asked Pyhrra, "I got the impression that he wasn't the type to take things personally."

Ren took a deep breath, "He and I had a conversation during history. He-"

"Wait," Nora interrupted, "you talked to him during class? How? I didn't hear anything."

"He doesn't necessarily need to project his voice, he can send messages, and even see through the cameras in scrolls," Ren explained. "In any case, he mentioned something I don't really understand. Here, look."

Ren passed his scroll around the table, showing everyone the conversation.

"I don't get it," Jaune muttered, "how could he be a robot and then suddenly wake up as a human? That doesn't make sense."

"Don't we have Goodwitch after this?" Yang asked.

"Yeah," Ruby confirmed. "Why?"

"No reason."

For the remainder of lunch, the eight of them discussed Ridian, coming up with questions and theories about him.

They would learn a very important truth in sparring class.


	4. Confrontation

**Beacon Academy - Sparring Hall**

RWBY and JNPR downcast as they entered their last class of the day.

They were among the first to arrive, having mostly lost their appetite after Ren's revelation.

They were thus quite surprised to find Ridian sitting cross-legged in the center of the arena.

Even more surprising was the sickly green energy that enveloped him, swirling and flickering like weak flame, wisps lashing out before settling down.

It was unlike any aura they'd ever seen, even Pyhrra's years in the competitive circuit were of no help.

Ridian's aura began to fade, and professor Goodwitch approached him, "I take it you were unsuccessful?" she asked, "Unlocking a semblance is not an easy thing, it requires a strong understanding of yourself. Don't be surprised if you take months or even years to uncover it."

"I have confirmed my semblance is what I believed it to be," Ridian announced through her scroll, "Thank you for unlocking my aura, Professor. I should be able to fight at my fullest now."

Goodwitch's eyes were wide, understandably shocked by his statement.

She closed her eyes and took a breath, composing herself, "I'm glad I could be of assistance. I look forward to seeing what you can do."

"As do I."

With that Ridian stood and walked to the viewing area and took a seat on one of the benches.

Both teams approached him warily.

They all jumped in fright when his voice sounded from their scrolls, "Is something wrong?" he asked bluntly, looking at them, with his head cocked slightly to the side.

Yang was the first to respond, charging up to him, grabbing his collar and trying to haul him to his feet, unfortunately for her, he didn't budge.

This only served to anger her further, "You've got some nerve, acting like nothing happened. Why'd you ghost us like that, huh? You ignore us during class, then you just up and disappear at lunch, and you think we're just gonna let that slide? No chance, so you'd best start talking, or I'll-"

Ridian snapped to his feet, his lips parted in a faint snarl, his voice sharp through their scrolls, "You'll what? Attack me? Very well, but know that I will act in kind."

Yang backpeddled, taking a fighting stance.

"Yang, stop!" Ruby shouted, positioning herself between Ridian and her sister, "Ridian, sit!"

Ridian turned his glare on Ruby, she stood firm, despite her racing heart.

A moment later his face lost all expression and he returned to his seat without a word.

Ruby let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, "Okay, now, Ridian, why'd you ignore us all day? We were worried about you."

"I was working on something that required much of my focus, and a great amount of time," he explained. "I have only just completed the first part. I apologize for worrying you, but none of you would have been able to help, so I felt it better not to involve you."

Yang decided that wasn't good enough, "Oh yeah? How are you so sure? You don't know anything about us!"

"I know more than you would think, Yang Xiao Long, daughter of Raven Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long, age seventeen, birthday July twentieth. I can continue if you would like?" Ridian delivered in his usual emotionless way, "I know enough to know that none of you could help me."

Yang took a swing at him, blinded by rage, "That's it! You think you're some big deal? You're nothing! No one! You're never going to be anything."

Ridian wordlessly caught the incoming fist, not even bothering to look at Yang.

He stayed seated, holding Yang's fist in his long fingers.

Yang grunted, pulling against Ridian's grip, "Let go of me, you bastard!"

Yang cried out, grabbing Ridian's wrist.

Ridian finally looked at Yang, "If I wanted to, I could crush your bones to dust. When I was asked to work with you I had hoped to finally free myself from the loneliness. It is becoming difficult to believe that such a thing is possible."

He looked at the rest of the group, and the many student now surrounding them, "It occurs to me that none of you were given a choice in this, perhaps I should allow you to have your say."

He released Yang's hand, "I will inform Ozpin to expect your decision. In the meantime, I will leave you to think about what you want."

Without giving anyone a chance to react, Ridian walked away.

Nobody said a word while Goodwitch called the class to order, "As I'm sure you've noticed," she announced, "we have a new student with us today, Ridian Steele, please come to the front."

The class murmured, most of them having seen the confrontation between him and Yang.

Goodwitch cleared her throat, "Now, you're probably curious about what mister Steele is capable of, so why don't we have a quick match, any volunteers?"

"I'll take him on!" called Yang, "let's see what you're made of."

Professor Goodwitch sighed, "Very well, our first match of the day, Ridian Steele against Yang Xiao Long. You have five minutes to ready yourselves."

Yang quickly made her way to the lockers, changing into her combat attire and loading Ember Celica.

When she exited the locker room, she saw Ridian, standing in the arena, hands resting behind his back, shoulders relaxed and eyes forward. He didn't even spare her a glance as she climbed the steps to the arena floor.

Professor Goodwitch stood in the center of the ring and began setting down the rules, "This fight will last until one fighter's aura enters the red, one fighter leaves the ring, knockout, or until five minutes passes, at which point the fighter with the highest aura wins. Do both fighters understand the rules as I have explained them?"

"Loud and clear," Yang replied, while Ridian simply nodded.

Goodwitch gave a terse nod, "In that case, fighters in position," she made her way to the monitoring station next to the ring, "fighters at the ready... Begin!"

Yang exploded into motion, using Ember Celica to launch herself at Ridian, who stood unmoving.

She cocked back a fist, twisting her entire body into the attack, but her fist hit air.

Ridian shifted to one side, allowing Yang's punch to pas harmlessly by.

The next thing Yang could tell, she couldn't breathe, she grasped at her throat, finding a single thin wrist wrapped around her neck.

She felt her feet leave the ground as her vision blurred.

She tried desperately to suck in any air, clawing at the hand holding her up.

She fired several shots at Ridian's face, having little effect other than his hand tightening.

The edges of Yang's vision began to darken, her heart hammering in her ears, her mind drowning in fear and oxygen deprivation.

She barely heard a faint shout in the background.

Suddenly the pressure on her neck disappeared, and she fell to the floor.

She sucked in deep lungfuls of cool air, her eyes and her mind clearing.

She scrambled to her feet, seeing Ridian standing with his back to her.

With a feral scream she lunged at him.

Time seemed to slow down as she flew toward him, Ridian turning to face her.

Too late she noticed the large leather combat boot rocketing at her head.

It caught her squarely in the temple and her world went dark.

* * *

**A/N: Shorter chapter this time, I originally planed for this to be 2 whole chapters, but when I put pen to paper, I realized that I would have to pad both out way too much. Instead I just wrote what I felt was the ideal amount, so yeah one shorter chapter. Sorry.**


	5. Chance Encounter

**Beacon Academy - Medical Wing**

Yang's head was pounding, "Oof, did someone get the number of the bullhead that hit me?" she asked with a pained chuckle.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, "You're awake!"

Yang cringed, "Not so loud, Rubes, my head's killing me."

She tried opening her eyes, only to squeeze them shut when the light hit.

"What happened?"

Ruby was silent.

"Ruby," Yang pleaded, "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Ruby asked softly.

"I was gonna take Ridian down a peg or two. Wait... Did I lose?"

"Yeah. You didn't even land a hit on him."

"I... How?" Yang tried opening her eyes again.

"It-it was really quick, like, quicker than me, the match started and then he was ch-choking you," Ruby hiccuped, "Goodwitch called the match and he just dropped you, th-then you attacked him and he... He kicked you so hard, your aura broke a-and you weren't moving," she sobbed.

"Ruby," Yang said soothingly, forcing her eyes open against the harsh glare of the ceiling lights and looked at Ruby. "Ruby, I'm fine," Yang reached out, grabbing Ruby's hand, "look, I'm okay, see?" she forced a smile.

Ruby smiled weakly in return, "The doctor said you had a pretty bad concussion. He said it could take a couple weeks for you to get better and you have to stay here for a few days so he can make sure you're alright."

Yang sighed, closing her eyes and settling back into the bed, "How long was I out, anyways?"

"About an hour," Ruby answered, "Ridian brought you here, he said he didn't mean to hit you so hard. He told me that he won't hang around us if we didnt want him to," she explained with a tinge of sadness.

"What did you say?" Yang asked gently.

"I said I'd talk to everyone about it and that he should probably stay away for now," Ruby sighed. "I guess he was expecting that, he didn't really seem upset, he just kinda nodded and walked off."

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but maybe it's for the best, you heard what he said, he's really dangerous."

"We're all dangerous, Yang!" Ruby nearly yelled. "But at least we have a team, friends, family. He's completely alone, he could die in the Emerald Forest and nobody would miss him. Imagine how that must feel."

"Ruby..." Yang tried.

"It's not fair! We were meant to be his team! We're supposed to be his friends, but we treated him like trash! Like he wasn't worth our time. All he wanted was a friend, just one. And we couldn't be bothered to try."

"So what are you going to do?" Yang asked, wishing she could sink into the bed and disappear.

"What I said I'd do," Ruby declared, "I'm going to talk to everyone and see what they think."

"And if they decide not to give him a chance?" asked carefully.

"Then I'll do it on my own. He needs someone, anyone, to care about him, because I'm pretty sure no one ever has."

Yang cursed mentally, "I don't like the idea of you being near him alone, we don't know what he's capable of."

"I'll be careful, but I'm not going to let him be on his own anymore. It's not right."

Yang gave a resigned sigh, "I guess that's the best I'm gonna get. Fine, as long as you're careful I won't stop you, but I don't want anything to do with him."

"I'm sorry, Yang, I'm just thinking about what mom would have done," Yang's heart sank, and she heard a chair scrape loudly against the floor, and winced. Ruby muttered an apology, "I have to go. I'll come see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later..." Yang paused for a moment. "Hey, Rubes?"

"Yeah, sis?"

"I'm proud of you. Looks like there's already one person who'd miss him."

Ruby's voice sounded distant, "Thanks, Yang, I'll let the doctor know you're awake."

"Cool."

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Memorial Garden**

Ridian sat cross-legged in the shade of an ancient oak tree. His eyes were closed and his body was shrouded in flickering green.

He'd wandered here seeking somewhere isolated, free of the interference of digital signals, and found a small fenced off garden with rows of neatly arranged headstones.

He moved through the many markers of the lost, paying respect to each of them as his people once had, and left the garden finding a large tree surrounded by a circle of grass and a wall of smaller trees, like a statement that life carries on.

He felt it strangely appropriate to use the shade of this tree to contemplate his next steps and explore his aura.

And so time passed, his tiny spark of aura fading and flaring, the tattered sliver of his soul struggling to become whole.

It was well into the night when someone finally stumbled upon him, Ridian sensing a scroll long before its owner entered the clearing.

Ridian briefly considered plundering the scroll for information, but decided against it, opting to let this meeting play out more naturally than previous.

The intruder moved quietly, slowly, trying not to disturb him.

He didn't react as they approached, allowing them to make the first move.

The stranger sat on the other side of the tree and stilled.

Ridian returned his focus inward, content to share the space with another.

He couldn't keep his attention from drifting to the other occupant of the clearing and any idea of meditation was thrown aside when Ridian heard sobbing.

He opened his eyes, noting the star-spotted sky, and slowly turning to look at the other person.

She was curled up against the tree her head buried in her lap. Her shoulders shook with near silent sobs.

She her long chocolate hair covered her face, and an eye-catching pair of rabbit ears fell limp over her knees.

Ridian gingerly reached out, fingers lightly brushing her shoulder.

She yelped, and threw herself away from him.

Ridian instantly withdrew his hand, pulling himself into a kneeling posture facing her and waited, watching her.

She slowly looked at Ridian,"I-I'm sorry," she sputtered, "I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just... Most people don't know about this place, so I usually come here when I want to be alone."

Ridian nodded slowly, directing his eyes to the ground in front of her.

"I, uh, I'm Velvet. You're the new student, Ridian, right?" she spoke with an accent Ridian couldn't place.

Ridian nodded once, then gestured to his neck and shook his head.

"Oh!" Velvet exclaimed, "You can't talk?"

Another nod.

He tried to sign something but Velvet didn't know what, "I'm sorry, I don't know sign language."

Ridian paused, then acted out using a scroll.

This time Velvet understood the message, "You need a scroll? Did you lose yours?"

Ridian nodded, then shrugged.

Velvet was thoughtful for a moment, weighing the risks of handing over her scroll, while Ridian watched expectantly.

"You can use mine, if you want?" she offered hesitantly, proffering her scroll

Ridian bowed his head, reaching for the device.

He held his hand over hers for a moment before withdrawing, much to Velvet's confusion, "I thought you wanted to use my scroll?"

"I do," came a strange voice from her scroll, making her jolt and almost drop it, "just not as you expected."

Velvet looked at her scroll in shock, looking back ta Ridian just in time to see the corner of his mouth twitch upward.

She gave him a playful glare before smiling in turn, "That was mean! You could have warned me you were going to do that."

Ridian's mouth twitched again, "I apologize, but without sign language I couldn't tell you. It also taught me something about myself that I did not know; I have a sense of humor."

"Wait you never knew you found things funny?" Velvet gave him a droll look, "I don't believe you."

"I..." Ridian looked down for a moment, "I never had the chance, not before coming here."

Velvet gasped, grabbing a fistful of her shirt, "That's awful! I hope that you find reasons to laugh here," she sighed, looking at the floor. "Makes my problems look pathetic in comparison."

Ridian shuffled forward and put a hand on Velvet's shoulder, who looked up shocked, "No two burdens can be carried the same way. This does not make them any lesser or greater than any other," he spoke firmly. "We each have our troubles to bear, and we must each bear them as best we can. What troubles you is nothing to be brushed aside, regardless of what it is."

Ridian's eyes seemed to light up, though his expression didn't change, "You've done me a great service tonight and I must repay you. Share with me your troubles that I may ease your burden."

Velvet blushed at the flowery language, "It's nothing," she dismissed, "not worth hearing."

Ridian's lips twitched down, and his eyes hardened, "It is not nothing," he said with an edge to his words, "especially not if it has you crying alone late at night. Please, Velvet, let me help you."

Velvet looked into Ridian's glowing green eyes, noting that they truly glowed, "I guess it's hard to miss the fact that I'm a faunus. I don't know what it's like where you're from, but in Vale, in most places really, faunus aren't treated well. We're seen as second class citizens or worse. In Atlas it's still legal to shoot faunus found on your property, like we're some kind of vermin!" her voice grew to a shout, "And now, if a faunus fights back they're labeled as a White Fang supporter! As if wanting to be treated like a person makes you a terrorist!"

Velvet wrapped her arms around Ridian's torso and began to weep into his chest.

Ridian gingerly wrapped his arms around the crying girl.

"I don't know what to do anymore, he won't leave me alone," she murmured into his chest, "the teachers won't do anything about him, and when I fight back he'll tell the teachers that I'm with the Fang and I'll be expelled!"

Ridian felt like a fire was burning in his chest, "Who?" his voice came out a low growl, "Who is it that has reduced you to this?"

"I-I can't, I don't want you to get in trouble for me. Please just drop it, it's enough that you listened to me, you don't need to worry about me."

Ridian snorted, "How amusing, you think I am not already involved in this." Velvet pulled back and stared at Ridian. He stared into her eyes and continued speaking, "You trusted me with your troubles, that makes them my troubles now too."

"I... That's not-"

"Velvet, I have been through tortures kinder than what you face, I refuse to stand by and watch the first person to ever trust me come to harm. Tell me his name that he may trouble you no longer."

Velvet was conflicted, she hadn't realized how much her trust had meant to him, and now understood why he was so invested in helping her, but at the same time, she didn't want him to do something reckless in her name.

These two thoughts warred in her mind, until Ridian interrupted her thoughts, "Velvet, I swear I will not act against him directly, not unless he leaves me no other choice. He will never know about me unless you want him to, you have my word."

Velvet was a flash of desperation in his eyes as they scanned her face, trying to find insight into her mind.

She relented.

"Cardin," she muttered, barely above a whisper, "his name is Cardin Winchester. You promise you won't do anything to him that will get you in trouble?"

Ridian pulled away from Velvet, looking her dead in the eye, "No one will ever know I was involved, I promise."

That was as good as Velvet was going to get, and she wasn't going to turn away a sympathetic ear, "Thanks Ridian, for all of this."

"Of course," he dipped his head. "One last thing before I walk you back to your dorm?"

"Okay?"

"May I see your scroll once more?"

Velvet offered it to him, not sure what to expect, he waved his hand over it and nodded, "If you ever need help, or someone to talk to, send me a message. You'll find my contact in your scroll.

"Now, let's get you to bed," he stood, offering Velvet a hand, "it's rather late and you need to rest."

Velvet took his hand and pulled herself to her feet, feeling as though a weight had lifted from her heart.

As they walked Velvet couldn't but glance at the giant walking quietly beside her, his movements were almost mechanical, reminding her of the new Atlesian robots she'd seen advertised everywhere.

"Ridian," she said gently, catching his attention.

He looked over at her, "Yes, Velvet?"

"Are you okay?" she asked, "You seem... Tense."

"I'm fine," he answered simply, "just getting used to the idea being able to relax."

The corners of his mouth ticked up for an instant, and he added, "Thank you for worrying about me, Velvet, I don't remember if anyone else ever did."

Velvet smiled up at him, saddened but unsurpried by his words, "We're friends, Ridian, friends worry about each other."

He blinked, nearly missing a step in surprise, "Indeed," he responded vaguely.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Dormitories**

It took the better part of half an hour for Ridian and Velvet to make their way to the dormitory building, on the opposite side of campus, due to most buildings being locked for the night.

Velvet was not looking forward to the interrogation waiting for her in her room.

When they reached her team's room, Velvet gave Ridian another hug, which he quickly returned.

Velvet ended the hug, "Thanks for listening, Ridian, and for telling those thing, it means a lot."

Ridian simply shrugged, "Anything for a friend. Now rest, and face tomorrow with a smile, it suits you better," he inclined his head to the door.

Velvet blushed, fumbling for her scroll.

She managed to open the door and looked at Ridian, "Goodnight, Ridian."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, "Goodnight, Velvet."

* * *

**A/N: Holy smokes this chapter just didn't want to end. I had a list of possible characters and scenarios for the meeting under the tree. I couldn't decide which I liked most so I numbered them and rolled some dice, and man did I get lucky, those scenes just about wrote themselves.**

**Also, thank to everyone who faved, followed, and left reviews.**

**And since some of you already figured out where Ridian came from, I wanted to ask does this count as a crossover? I'm not entirely clear on what the criteria are for that, so let me know.**

**Thanks.**


	6. Revelation

**Beacon Academy - Student Dormitories**

After seeing his new friend to her room, Ridian wandered the halls, working through potential strategies to attack Cardin Winchester from the shadows, destroy him without killing him, and ruin him at a distance.

There were far too many possible results for him to account for in a short time, so Ridian relegated those plans and predictions to a secondary thought chain, and turned his focus to finding his own room.

He approached the nearest door and slipped into the network through the digital lock, sweeping past thousands of nodes in search of the student registry.

Quickly finding his quarry, he scanned the document, filing away Cardin's room number and noting his own.

Having taken what he needed, Ridian exited the network without a trace, making a beeline for his room.

A few minutes later Ridian stood at his door, he reached for the handle and...

He hesitated.

He stared at his extended hand, willing it to move.

Nothing happened.

Ridian was transfixed, he'd never hesitated before, and couldn't understand why he would now.

He pulled back, steeling his resolve, and in one motion opened the door.

He stepped into the room, curious about his new home.

The room was spartan, containing only a bed and a small desk.

There was a closet in one of the walls near a door that led to the hygiene facilities.

Ridian opened the closet, finding several sets of tailored school uniforms, and a pair of what he was sure were custom made formal black shoes.

A ping from the desk grabbed his attention. He walked over to see a strange open loop with a slim black box attached to its ends.

Lifting it showed it weighed next to nothing, and Ridian spotted a letter on the desk.

He snagged the paper,

'Dear Mr Steele,

I see you've eventually found your way to your accommodations.

I want to once more welcome you to Beacon. I hope you find the provided amenities sufficient.

If you need any additional assistance contact Miss Goodwitch, and she will do her best to help.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what it is you've found.

Put simply it's a voice amplifier used by riot control officers, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you why you have one.

I wish you good luck in your future studies.

Ozpin.'

Ridian set the device back on the desk, deciding to toy with it another time.

He instead focused on the bed noting it would support at most two thirds of his body if he lay flat.

Something to bring up with Goodwitch tomorrow.

In the meantime Ridian stripped off his waistcoat, boots and cargo pants, and curled up on the too small bed, letting his mind slow to a stop.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Cafeteria**

Ruby was not having a good morning, she'd spent the hours after her talk with Yang trying unsuccessfully to find Ridian.

After she'd been forced by Wiess to give up the search in favor of getting her assignments done, she'd skipped dinner, her worry over Ridian robbing her appetite.

To top it off, her fretting had made it hard to sleep, despite her exhaustion.

And now Wiess was scolding her for not waking up on time.

She picked at the food on her tray, not really listening, too absorbed in her own thoughts.

After a few minutes, she noticed Wiess had gone quiet, she looked up at her partner who in turn stared at something across the hall.

Ruby followed Wiess' gaze to a tall form standing in the line for the food counter.

An instant later Wiess was covered in a shower of rose petals and Ruby was halfway across the hall.

Unfortunately, in all her sleep deprived glory, Ruby had misjudged the distance between her and her target, and was now moving too fast to stop in time.

This, combined with polished linoleum and her weakened balance, transformed her from a rushing girl into a ballistic missile.

Anyone lucky enough to see her approach hurried to clear the way, some abandoning their food to make an escape.

Ridian, though remained unmoved, his attention squarely on which delights he craved.

"Look out!" Ruby cried in desperate warning.

She was airborne now, and curled up, bracing for impact.

She clenched her eyes and waited for the pain to come.

A few seconds later, she finally registered a surprising lack of both pain and noise.

Ruby peekd out with one eye, and was greeted by a myriad stares of disbelief.

She slowly uncurled, and felt herself shift down unexpectedly.

She got her feet under her and felt them gently touch the ground.

She took a step away from whoever she'd run into and looked back.

There stood Ridian, towering over her as only he could.

"I appreciate your eagerness to eat," came his distinct synthetic voice, "but a small measure of self restraint does wonders for one's ongoing well-being."

Ruby's face turned the color of her cloak, "Hehe... Oops?"

"Indeed," Ridian turned back to the counter and began loading his tray.

Ruby noted that he was far more conservative with his food than yesterday.

She shook her head, banishing the errant thought, "Uh... Ridian?" she probed.

He looked down at her.

She gulped, her throat suddenly dry, "Can we, y'know, talk?"

"Of course," he replied, walking toward a table.

Ruby gave chase, "No, I mean, like, alone?" she clarified.

Ridian found an empty spot and slipped easily into the bench, "I see," he responded. "Very well. But I will eat first, I refuse to waste food. You should return to Wiess, before she hurts her eyes glaring like that."

Ruby winced, slowly turning to the glaring heiress, "Oh shoot, I gotta go, bye!" she rattled off, dashing back to her table.

Ridian returned to his meal, eating peacefully.

At least, until a pair of trays were set down at his flanks and a third opposite him.

He looked up.

In front of him sat a pale girl with peircing brown eyes that tried to look into his soul.

To one side sat a dark skinned boy with several scars and sightless white eyes.

To the other sat a mountain of a man with a dark tan and an unreadable expression.

"Do you need something from me?" Ridian asked.

"Yeah. Rumor has it you had a lovely little chat with our favorite bun-bun. Care to share?" the girl opposite demanded.

Ridian set down his cutlery and matched her stare, "Is it truly a rumor? Or did Velvet tell you?"

She gave him an appraising look, "You're pretty sharp, aren't you?"

"And you aren't answering my question," Ridian pointed out.

"Well now, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm-"

Ridian cut her off, "Coco Adel, Yatsuhashi Daichi, and Fox Alastair, I know who you three are, stop deflecting and answer me."

Coco grit her teeth, "Fine," she bit out, "Vel told us. Happy now?"

Ridian nodded, "Velvet and I spoke at length last night about bearing burdens and sharing troubles."

"Wait, you just talked?" Coco asked, looking confused, "Nothing else?"

Ridian tilted his head to the side, "I don't follow. What else would we have done?"

Coco shook her head, "If all you did was talk, why was Velvet so happy this morning?"

"I merely told her to face the day with a smile, whether she listened or not was up to her."

"Huh," Coco looked thoughtful, "I don't think anyone else has gotten through to her like that before. How'd you do it?"

"I let her speak her mind," Ridian explained, "and responded with understanding, nothing more. I understand her plight. I have been through something similar."

"So what? You got bullied? Big deal. That doesn't make you better at understanding her."

Ridian's mouth twitched down and his eyes hardened, "If that is what you think it's about, then you truly have failed her. The harassment is little more than a symptom of the true struggle Velvet faces."

"Oh yeah?" Coco tensed, "And what's that?"

"Oppression," Ridian's speakers crackled lowly, fully glaring at Coco. "That is what she faces in all aspects of her life."

Coco matched his glare, the other two tensing, ready to act.

"And what makes you an expert, huh? You're human aren't you?"

Ridian openly snarled, revealing a set of wickedly pointed canines, "I have been the oppressor and the oppressed, and had you seen me at my peak, human would be the very last thing you would think me.

"I was a war slave" he continued, Coco's expression shifting from fury to horror, "physically altered to serve masters that cared nothing for our existence. The only reason I can even sit before you is through a very literal case of divine intervention.

Ridian composed himself, "Is that qualification enough? Or do I have to detail the atrocities I have endured and committed?"

Coco gulped, shaken, "I-I didn't... Oh gods."

Ridian slipped out of his seat, rising to his full height, "Indeed," he turned to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, it seems I've lost my appetite."

He left them to consider the implications of his words and went to meet with Ruby.


	7. Failures

**Beacon Academy - Library**

"We are alone here," Ridian told Ruby, sitting down at an empty table, "What is it you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk about how we're going work together," Ruby explained, "especially after what happened with Yang."

"I can see cause for concern, yes, " Ridian nodded, feeling it best to explain himself. "My role here is to support your and Jaune's teams in combat, in order to do that effectively I need to know what to expect from all of you, to this end I accessed your student profiles and learned what I could about each of you."

"That's actually a pretty important part of this," Ruby was glad for Ridian's willingness to cooperate. "What you did yesterday was not okay, do you understand?"

"I do," he responded, his mouth ticking down, "I abused knowledge I'd gained without your consent. Please convey my apologies to the others should they be unwilling to meet with me."

"Uh, sure? I also wanted to ask what you were doing yesterday that you ignored everyone."

"Ah, yes, I didn't explain that very well did I?" he lowered his head, "Put simply I was researching aura, and later attempting to unlock my own with no success."

Ruby stared in confusion, "You didn't have your aura unlocked? Why?"

"I was never in a position to do so," he answered vaguely, "and I feared the process I'd under gone had stripped me of my soul. As it turns out I was mostly correct, my soul is but a shard of what it once was."

"I don't... How? Why?"

"My former masters wanted perfect slaves," Ridian began, "built for war, most of us were deceived, promised immortality, a cure for our broken bodies. They granted us that, at the cost of our minds and souls. I was lucky, through sheer force of will, I survived the process with even a spark of my soul intact."

Ruby was in tears, the horror of what she was hearing too much for her to bear, "P-please, no more, I c-can't... I'm sorry."

She ran, disappearing between the bookshelves.

Ridian stood and walked over to one of the nearby shelves, reading the spines of the books, "You can come out now, Blake."

She stepped out from behind another shelf, "How did you know? I don't even have my scroll."

"The walls here very literally have eyes," he answered point g to a camera mounted on the wall. "The entire campus is connected to the CCT infrastructure. Most networks are actually, and those not directly connected still use the network system framework, all of which are worryingly easy to compromise."

Blake nodded, "Oh," she paused as a realization struck her, "Wait, can you access crime records and incident reports?"

"I can," Ridian said, picking a book and walking over to one of the tables with a terminal, "what do you need?"

Blake sat down next to him, "I'm looking for dust robberies in Vale in the last five years, along with heavy White Fang activity, can you handle that?"

"With ease," he said as the screen began to flash with documents, police reports, news articles, financial and insurance statements, and all manner of other information.

It took a few minutes for the stream of data to dry up, at which point Ridian turned to Blake, "There is a significant amount of data here, can you be more specific with what you're looking for?"

"Any robberies that were linked White Fang, Roman Torchwick, or both," Blake quickly supplied, "can you check how much they've taken too?"

"I believe so," he turned back to the screen, which erupted into activity, irrelevant information disappearing and being replaced by maps and statistics.

When Ridian finished he turned his seat to face Blake, "Before I give you this information, I have to ask; are you planning a field operation?"

"Why?" Blake asked, glaring at him, "Are you going to stop us?"

Ridian shook his head, "My role is to support you in combat, and I take my tasks very seriously. If you're going into a potential combat area I simply wish to accompany you."

"You want to help us? After what you did to Yang? How can we trust you?"

Ridian was silent. His eyes flicked around.

Blake found herself wanting him to answer, to give her a reason to trust him, despite her mind flashing images of Adam's face over Ridian's.

She watched as his eyebrows twitched, his face giving tiny flickers of emotion, barely there but visible when one looked closer.

Her breath caught when his eyes locked on hers.

"I..." he began, "What I did was unforgivable, I see that now. I do not understand why I hurt Yang as I did, but it no longer matters. All I can do now is work to undo as much of the damage as I can," he leaned closer to Blake. "Will you help me? I do not fully understand my emotions yet."

Relief washed over Blake, "I think I can do that. Just don't expect me to do the fixing for you."

"That is my responsibility. I will see it through."

Blake gave a faint smile, "Good. My first piece of advice; go talk to Yang."

Ridian nodded, "I will, during lunch if possible," he blinked. "Oh dear. It appears we are late. Grimm studies started twenty minutes ago."

Blake snorted and shook her head, "We aren't going to miss much, professor Port is rather prone to veering off the syllabus for the better part of a lecture. History on the other hand would be a mistake to miss," Blake informed Ridian, "send me the intel you found, then we wait for history."

"Consider it done."

* * *

**Beacon Academy -**** Medical Wing**

Yang was bored.

She still had trouble focusing her eyes, making even reading her scroll almost impossible, and the constant headaches when she tried made it that much worse.

The doctor had said she needed to stay for at least another two nights to make sure the swelling had gone down enough for her to move about safely.

She felt like she was going to go insane.

She clicked the button for the painkillers and settled back into the meager pillow she was given, hoping she could sleep away the boredom and pain.

She lay there with her eyes closed for what felt like an eternity.

The sound of a chair scraping on the floor halted her futile attempt at sleep.

She sat up, looking at her visitor, and felt rage flood her mind, "What the hell are you doing here, you piece of shit?!"

Ridian didn't react to her insult, "I am here to apologize," he answered simply.

"And why should I even listen to you?"

"If you aren't going to listen, then my being here is pointless," he rose from the chair and walked toward the door.

"That's right, run way, freak! Go hide like a coward!"

Ridian stopped cold.

He turned back to Yang, his face contorted into a feral snarl, baring his inhuman teeth, while his eyes blazed with rage, "You dare?!" his voice blasted from the riot amplifier, "A mere mortal dares to call a god-killer a coward?! You know nothing of fear! Of despair!

"Your mind would shatter at the slightest hint of the horrors I have seen," his voice lowered, his lips lowering to hide his teeth, "I have committed genocide on a planetary scale, and you believe me afraid admitting my mistakes? How dare you."

Yang could barely breathe, her heart hammering in her chest.

She barely registered the nurses rushing into the room or the cold feeling of a sedative being pumped into her IV as her world faded away.

* * *

Ridian barely made it to the end of the hall before the pain in his chest caused him to stagger.

He made it another two steps before he sank to his knees and then fell to the side, clutching his chest as the pain consumed him.

Despite this, he refused to scream, knowing he would cripple anyone who heard it.

The tiny part of his mind not blinded by pain registered the sound of approaching footsteps and shouting, before he, like Yang, succumbed to darkness.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Cafeteria**

Ruby and Wiess sat with team JNPR, chatting idly about the upcoming tournament, the fast approaching dance, and l what they were looking forward to on their first real missions as trainee hunters.

All six of their scroll sounded an alert simultaneously.

They scrambled to pull out the blaring devices.

Each scroll displayed an identical urgent order to report to the medical wing immediately.

All thought of food and conversation died as they moved as one, sprinting out of the hall toward the medical building.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Library**

Blake poured over the information Ridian had gathered for herher, thankful that he'd arranged everything into a series of folders, added references to notable incidents, and mapped out several patterns alongside numbers indicating what was taken, its estimated value and its potential explosive yield.

That last one had made Blake shiver.

Her investigation was halted by her scroll, a shrill alarm demanding her attention.

She read the alert, disconnected from the terminal, and bolted for the door, praying that her first thoughts were wrong.


	8. Critical Condition

**Beacon Academy - Medical Wing**

The sight that greeted the seven teens as they entered the observation room was bleak.

On the other side of the glass lay Yang, her head shaven and bandaged, with wires emerging from beneath them and leading to a monitor which displayed three graphs that made no sense to those present.

At her side was Ridian, who had been stripped of all but his underwear. His body was strapped to the bed as it silently writhed and twisted, strange lumps forming and dissipating under his skin.

Nobody spoke, there was nothing anyone could say, they simply stood in shock, unable do anything but watch helplessly.

Ruby broke the silence with a tiny hiccup, followed by more and more intense sobs.

Wiess reacted instantly to her partner's grief, wrapping her in a tight hug.

Blake made to join, but hesitated, a sense of guilt settling like lead in her gut. A sudden urge to run slammed into her, her instincts screaming at her to flee.

It took all her willpower to remain rooted where she was, her eyes filled with tears and her hands covering her mouth.

Team JNPR quickly moved to comfort Ruby, with Ren breaking away to approach Blake, gently rubbing her back as he stood next to her.

This was how the head doctor found them, coughing gently to catch their attention.

"Teams RWBY and JNPR, correct?"

Juane moved to talk to the doctor, "What happened? I thought Yang was recovering? And why is Ridian like..." he gestured to the writhing form, "That?"

The doctor took a deep breath, "Earlier, miss Xiao Long suffered a minor cranial hemorrhage, caused by a massive spike in blood pressure during a panic episode. The episode appears to be due to an argument she had with mister Steele. We had to operate to relieve the pressure."

"And Ridian?" Juane asked, putting aside the strange timing for the moment, "He was fine twenty minutes ago."

The doctor sighed, "I'm afraid we simply don't know. From what we can gather his aura is actively attacking those growths, but given how weak it is he doesn't seem able to fully suppress whatever they are."

Jaune frowned, "You mean you don't know what they are?"

The doctor shook his head, "We tried to take a sample, but the nature of the growths made it difficult to even capture an image," he pulled out a tablet, tapped at it for a moment, and handed it to Jaune.

On the screen was a video, taken during an operation, showing an arm with a large open cut.

As Jaune watched a strange gray substance crisscrossed with bright green lines seemed to collect in the wound, before appearing to melt back into the surrounding flesh, which in turn began to knit back toghether at a rapid pace all in the span of a few seconds.

"Holy-!" Jaune nearly dropped the tablet. He looked at the doctor, "What was that? Why is it inside Ridian?"

The doctor looked troubled, "As I said we just don't know. One of the surgeons said it felt like metal when his scalpel struck a growth, but we haven't been able to confirm anything. As it stands, there's nothing we can do but wait and hope that his aura is able to overcome whatever is happening to him. I'm sorry."

The doctor's words caught Pyhrra's ear. She broke from the huddle around Ruby and approached the doctor, "I may be able to help" Pyhrra told the doctor, "My semblance gives me some control over magnetic fields. If you'll allow it, I can tell you if those..." she shuddered, "Things, are metal or not."

The doctor gave her an appraising look, before pinching the bridge of his nose and nodding, "At this point I'll take what I can get, go ahead."

Pyhrra extended a hand toward Ridian, and pushed her semblance to reach out and envelope him.

She gasped as his entire body lit up in her senses, the growths shining with denser magnetic flux. Her concentration faltered and her semblance withdrew.

She looked at the doctor, "It's not just those growths, it's like his entire body is full of a metal I've never encountered before, it's like it was moving on its own, it almost felt... Alive," she muttered more to herself than the doctor.

"I see," the doctor said thoughtfully, "thank you, miss Nikos, you have been a great help."

Jaune hanbed the doctor the tablet, "Is there anything we can do?"

The doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid the only thing you can do now is wait, miss Xiao Long should wake up some time tonight or tomorrow," he explained. "Until then I suggest you all return to your dorms and rest, you've had quite the shock. I'll let your teachers know that you won't be present."

Jaune scowled at the all too familiar feeling of powerlessness, "Thank you, doctor, let us know if anything changes?"

"Of course."

With that Jaune and his team ushered Ruby back to her room.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Dormitories**

Wiess sat on her bed with her back against the wall and Ruby's sleeping head in her lap. She idly ran her fingers through Ruby's soft, messy hair.

Blake had retreated into herself, tucking her knees to her chest and hiding her face, tears streaming down her cheeks as guilt gnawed at her.

"Blake," Wiess whispered, "are you alright?"

Blake didn't move, but Wiess was sure she heard Blake say something.

"Blake," she whispered again, more firmly, "what's wrong?"

"It's my fault," she murmured. "It's all my fault."

"What is?" Wiess asked growing more concerned, "What's your fault?"

"Yang. I told Ridian that he should try to apologize to her," Blake confessed, "I didn't... I never thought this could happen. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." she kept repeating her apology as she curled up tighter.

Wiess was confused, "When did you talk to him?" she asked, "I thought he was avoiding us?"

"We... We talked this morning, he helped me with some information and asked me for some advice, he said he wanted to try and fix things and I believed him."

Wiess chose her next words carefully, "Blake, look at me," she ordered and waited for Blake to comply. When Blake finally unveiled her puffy, amber eyes, Wiess continued, "This is not your fault. We don't know what happened between him and Yang. He may not have done anything," she emphasized, "but we. Don't. Know. And besides, you can't control what he does."

Blake sniffed and gave Wiess a thankful smile, "Guess I needed to hear that from someone."

"I'm always happy to be the voice of reason," Wiess smiled in return. "Now that you're feeling better, help me get Ruby to bed, my legs are falling asleep."

Blake's smile turned into a smirk, and her bloodshot eyes gained a glint of mischief, "I don't know, I don't feel like I want to get up yet," she shifted to lie down with her back to Wiess.

"Blake!" the pinned heiress hissed, "If you don't get over here, so help me I will have a fish banned from the cafeteria."

Blake immediately rolled over, giving Wiess a faux horrified look, "You wouldn't."

Wiess wore a triumphant smirk, "Wouldn't I?"

Blake sighed dramatically, "How cruel, to use my one weakness against me. I suppose I have no choice but to do as you ask," by the end of her little act, both Blake and Wiess were giggling quietly.

They put Ruby to bed and sat side by side on Blake's bed, whispering to one another and giggling occasionally, glad to have a distraction from the harrowing day they'd had.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Medical Wing**

Ozpin stood in the head doctor's office, listening as the man explained the situation to him.

"Miss Xiao Long is expected to make a full recovery before the Vytal tournament begins, though she may not be at her peak fitness, she will be able to compete."

Ozpin nodded, relieved, as at least that was good news, "And mister Steele? Any progress on understanding what is happening to him?"

The balding doctor nodded, "After the insight miss Nikos gave us, our local aura expert examined his aura. According to her findings, the weakness of mister Steele's aura is not natural, someone or something ripped his very soul to shreds. By her own words, he's lucky he made it this long."

Ozpin sighed, "Is there anything else she said that may provide answers?"

The doctor shook his head, "The only other thing she could tell us is that he's old, saying something seeing stars being born and dying in his lifetime."

"I see," he muttered, distractedly, "thank you for this information. I have something I need you to do."

"Sir?" the doctor asked.

"I need you to move mister Steele to a room I have prepared for him," Ozpin stated.

"May I ask why?"

Ozpin looked at the doctor, "What I am about to say never leaves this room, understood?" the doctor nodded gravely, "Mister Steele's voice is capable of doing tremendous harm to those that hear it. Count yourself lucky he hasn't cried out in his current state."

The doctor looked shaken, "I-I understand, sir, I'll make preparations for the transfer immediately."

"Very good, I'll leave it up to you, then," Ozpin left the office in lesser spirits than he had entered them in.

* * *

Doctors and nurses watched the four Atlas bots they'd requisitioned entered the room housing the most dangerous patient in the history of Beacon.

They held their breath as the androids began moving the gurney.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, the bots carrying out their orders while the staff kept their distance and wore heavy sound protection.

Their good fortune came to an abrupt end when, during his ceaseless motion, Ridian's arm came into contact with one of the androids.

The moment contact was made, the growths on his arm peirced his skin, and extended long strands that latched onto the metallic surface of the robot's arm.

From there the substance began to envelope the machine in a strange liquid that seemed to boil with cubic shapes.

Within seconds the whole droid was covered by the gray and green fluid, which then began to shrink until it retracted completely, sinking back beneath Ridian's skin.

No one moved, even the bots had stopped with the destruction of one of them.

Ridian's body, too, fell still, his skin undulating with the added material.

One of the doctors called to the remaining robots to continue the transfer.

They complied, resuming the motion of the gurney.

The rest of the move passed without incedent, Ridian now safely resting in a sound-proofed room.

The staff had let out a collective sigh of relief when the heavy door was shut, sealing in any danger of harm.

* * *

**A/N: I did not enjoy this chapter. At all. But it was necessary.****Anyway, I hope everyone is still enjoying the ride.****I'll see you in the next one.**


	9. Recovering

**Beacon Academy - Medical Wing**

Ruby sat at Yang's bedside, talking with her sister, who'd awoken in the early hours of the morning.

It scared Ruby to see the strongest person she'd ever known look so weak, so fragile.

Yang, to her credit, didn't immediately immolate the doctor that explained the situation to her, instead she listened quietly as the doctor informed her of her condition and what they'd done to save her.

When the doctor had asked what she remembered of her argument, she'd lied, telling her that she didn't remember anything.

As if she could forget what that monster had told her.

Yang had almost told Ruby the truth, that Ridian was a murderer, a demon on the level of the Grimm.

But she couldn't bring herself to, not after hearing the anguish in Ruby's voice as she explained Ridian's condition.

Yang had found it difficult to hide the relief she felt, when she heard about Ridian's containment, even more so when she learned of the incident during his transfer.

Her chat with Ruby was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Yang called weakly.

The door opened to reveal Blake, looking uncomfortable and nervous.

"Blakey!" Yang grinned, "I was wondering when my favorite Kitty Cat would visit!"

Blake forced a smile, "Hey Yang, how do you feel?"

"I've been better," she said before her signature smirk graced her features, "the docs say it'll be a few days before I can put all this..." she paused, "To bed."

Blake and Ruby groaned, but smiled, glad Yang still had her awful sense of humor.

Blake basked in Yang's small laugh for a moment, before remembering why she was there, "Hey, Ruby can you give Yang and I the room for a bit?"

Ruby looked confused, but nodded, "Sure. I'll be outside if you need me."

"Thanks, Ruby," Blake said as Ruby walked out.

Yang had an eyebrow raised when Blake turned back to her, "What's up, Kitty Cat?"

Blake swallowed thickly, "I'm sorry," she forced out, "this, you, it's my fault."

She choked back tears as she looked away from Yang, "I told him to come see you, to try and apologize for the way he acted. I didn't think he would..."

Yang tried to blame Ridian for Blake's current state, but knew deep down that if she'd just listened to him, or let him walk out, none of this would have happened.

"Blake... It, it wasn't you..." she struggled to form the words, "I... I pushed him, he told me he asked you for advice, that he came to apologize, but I just insulted him, he... He was gonna just leave like it was nothing, an-and I got mad. I called him a coward..."

Blake gasped, hands covering her mouth, "Oh Yang... You don't know..."

Blake's reaction caught Yang off guard, "W-what do you mean? What don't I know?"

"Ridian, he was a slave. His masters made him do awful, horrible things. He never had a choice. They experimented on him, almost destroyed his soul," Yang's eyes went wide in realization. Blake continued, "the only reason he's alive is because he had the strength to fight what they did to him. "

Blake gave Yang a pitying look.

Yang opened her mouth to speak, defend herself, but couldn't find the right words, "Oh... Oh gods, what did I do? I... Oh gods."

Blake watched as the full weight of what Yang had said became clear.

Yang felt like a goliath had just stepped on her chest, her mind flooding with guilt.

The walls seemed to close in as shame clouded her thoughts.

She continued spiral, until she felt a sharp sting on her cheek.

Her mind cleared, and she saw Blake standing over her looking terrified, "Yang!" Blake almost shouted, "Yang, can you hear me?!"

Yang blinked, she felt her heart settling, "I... Yeah... I'm here. Sorry."

Blake wrapped her arms around Yang's shoulders, and half sobbed, "Don't scare me like that! I thought I was going to lose you again!"

Yang rested her free arm on Blake's back, "Hey now, I'm okay, Kitty Cat, you brought me back. You can relax, you did great."

She felt Blake's hot tears through the hospital gown, "Shh, shh, it's okay," she soothed, "everything's just fine, so don't cry. You don't need to worry anymore, it's all going to be alright."

Blake slowly quieted, her breath coming more evenly, though she refused to release Yang.

Yand awkwardly patted Blake's back, "Hey, I'm fine, you can let go now."

Blake didn't move, "Can we stay like this?" she pleaded, "Just for a little while?" her voice sounded more fragile than Yang felt.

Yang rubbed Blake's back gently, laying her head back, "Of course we can, Kitten, for as long as you want."

* * *

Ruby peeked through the door, smiling softly seeing Blake and Yang resting in each other's presence.

She decided to leave them be, and walked over to the nurse's station, "Um, excuse me?" she asked, gaining the nurse's attention.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I, uh, can I see Ridian?"

The nurse blinked, "I can't let you into his room," she explained, her heart breaking a little at Ruby's downcast expression. An idea came to her, "but, I can let you look at the monitor feed. You'll be able to see how he's doing, okay?"

Ruby nodded quickly, "Y-yeah, that's fine, I just want to see if he's okay."

The nurse gave her a kind smile, "Alright, come around here," she instructed, "on that screen is his room. There hasn't been any change since last night I'm afraid."

Ruby nodded weakly, watching as Ridian's skin churned and rippled.

His eyes remained closed and his body still, the only signs of life were the rise and fall of his chest, and the steady spikes on the heart monitor.

"Do you know what's happening to him?"

The nurse shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't. I can call his doctor, he might be able to tell you."

Ruby nodded, "Yes, please."

The nurse typed something into the terminal, "Alright, the doctor will be by in a few minutes."

"Thanks."

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Ozpin's Office**

"I don't think you fully understand what you're proposing, Ozpin," General Ironwood was tense, with good reason, his colleague had just asked him to give up perhaps the most powerful force they had against their enemies.

"You'll find, James, that I understand what I'm asking better than anyone," Ozpin replied coldly, "it is my creation we're discussing, after all."

Ironwood's frustration boiled over, "Why is he so damn important?! He's just some vagrant I pulled out of the desert!" he raged, "What could possibly be so special about him?!"

Ozpin weathered the tirade, waiting for a moment to speak.

"He was sent to us," Ozpin jumped in when Ironwood stopped to breathe. "By the Brothers. For what, I cannot say, but I know he has a purpose here, and it is not our place to deny their will."

"They abandoned us! For all these years, you told us the Gods had left us to our fate!" James yelled. "And now, all of a sudden, they're helping us?! Why?!"

"I don't think he's here for us," Ozpin shot back. "Rather we're just the first step on his path, and it is up to us to prepare him for his destiny."

"I won't allow it," Ironwood denied, reigning in his temper, "we know too little about him. What he wants. Gods, we don't even know his real name!"

"Would it matter if we did?" Ozpin asked. "In the short time he was among my students, he revealed a wealth of information about himself."

"And how much of it can we believe?believe?" James fired back. "We have nothing but his word to go on."

"I had miss Divener perform an assessment on him. The results were... Enlightening."

Ironwood quieted, he was familiar with the name Divener, and the ability she possessed, "What did she tell you?" he questioned.

"Ridian Steele is his name, in his heart, and he holds it dear. You chose well in that regard."

James blinked, "That's all well and good, but what about his past, his intentions?"

"According to miss Divener, all of what he has said is true. He was made a slave, stripped of will and altered to fight in wars on a scale we could not comprehend."

James considered this information, "He has my sympathy, but I fail to see your point. What makes him worth the risk we'd be taking?"

Ozpin took a moment formulate his answer, "He's absolutely loyal to those he cares for. Even after yesterday's incident, he would lay his life down to protect miss Xiao Long without hesitation," Ozpin laced his fingers together over his mouth. "He's known his teammates for a day and a half, and he already holds such loyalty, imagine what we could achieve if we had that level of dedication to our cause."

Ironwood's eyes gleamed at the prospect for a moment, until he found a flaw with Ozpin's scheme, "How do we gain his loyalty? With his abilities, he'd know immediately if we try to mislead him, unless..." the general paused as he understood Ozpin's plan, "You want to bring him into the fold? Are you out of your mind?!"

"Given the fact that he has already met the brothers, do you honestly believe he is not already involved?"

As Ironwood considered Ozpin's perspective, an idea came to him, "The donor... Does it have to be Amber? Wouldn't any aura suffice?"

Ozpin stared at nothing for several moments, thinking over the suggestion, slowly nodding as the pieces fell into place, "I believe you've just solved our first problem. However, where do you propose we find a willing donor? I'm quite sure most people would disagree with giving up even a small portion of their soul to a complete stranger."

James swallowed nervously, "What about coma patients? Specifically those that will never recover?"

Ozpin sighed deeply, his expression grim, "Very well, prepare your machine, I will procure our donor."

Ironwood looked Ozpin in the eye, "Are you absolutely sure that this will work?"

"No," Ozpin admitted, "but it appears to be our only option."

"I understand," the general nodded in sympathy. "The transfer device will take a few days to be ready. I pray, for his sake and ours, that this works," he stood to leave the office, shaking Ozpin's hand.

"As do I."

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Cafeteria**

Velvet was worried, she hadn't seen her new friend since history the day before.

He wasn't at lunch, nor did he show up to class after, and he wasn't answering her messages.

She'd searched the campus for him, even checking the memorial garden in the evening to see if he'd returned there.

Dread washed over Velvet as she realized the only place she hadn't been to was the medical wing.

She forced herself to calm down, and made her way to the medical building.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Medical Wing**

Velvet walked up to the front desk and addressed the nurse working there, "Excuse me?"

The nurse looked up from her terminal, "Yes?"

"I'm looking for Ridian Steele," Velvet explained. "Is he here?"

The nurse typed the name into the terminal, "I'm sorry, but he is under strict quarantine, no visitors."

"Is he okay?!" the faunus asked frantically, "What happened to him?!"

"Are you a relative or teammate?" the nurse queried. When Velvet answered in the negative she sighed, "Then I'm afraid I'm not allowed to disclose that information to you, sorry."

"Is there any way I can see him?" Velvet asked desperately, "I'm really worried about him."

The nurse thought for a moment, "Go up to the first floor and find the nurse's station, the duty nurse may be able to help you."

Velvet smiled thankfully, "Thank you!"

When she arrived at the desk she spotted Ruby talking to a doctor.

"Ruby!" she called out rushing over to her underclassmen.

Ruby gave a confused look, "Velvet? What are you doing here?"

Velvet took a breath and composed herself, "Do you know what happened to Ridian? I hadn't heard from him since yesterday and the nurse downstairs said he was under quarantine, but wouldn't tell me why."

Ruby looked to the doctor, "Can you tell her what you told me?"

He nodded, "Of course," he turned to Velvet. "Mister Steele collapsed yesterday after a serious argument with miss Xiao Long and has been unconscious since," the doctor explained. "His aura, his soul itself, is extremely weak, and his emotional outburst likely caused a sort of backlash. For most it wouldn't even be noticed, but because of the weakness, his aura attacked itself.

"This can happen to normal hunters if their aura is depleted, but most who suffer this sort of thing recover with the regeneration of their aura. But with Ridian, not only is his aura at its peak, there is also an..." the doctor paused to consider his next words carefully, "Unknown substance moving through his body, likely causing his aura is continuously try to repair non-existent damage. We aren't sure, but this would appear to be the reason for his continued unconsciousness."

Velvet looked sickly, her face pale, "Is there anything you can do?"

The doctor looked at Ruby, who nodded, "We will be performing an experimental aura transfer procedure in a few days. Our hope is that we will be able to add to his aura capacity and allow him to wake up."

"Oh. But why is he being quarantined? He's not sick, is he?"

The doctor looked conflicted, "He's under isolation for our protection. I'm not supposed talk about this, but I think it best you know. His voice, or rather his vocal chords, create frequencies that are capable of of causing severe damage to the nasal cavities, which then cause bleeding in the brain, ears, and eyes. As you can imagine that would be bad.

"With him unconscious, we can't stop him from vocalizing, so we had no choice but to place him in a sound sealed room."

Ruby frowned, "When did he stop moving? When I saw him yesterday he was tossing in the bed."

The doctor lifted his tablet, flipping through files until he found a video, "There was an incident during the move to his new room. Watch."

He showed the pair a recording of the substance consuming the Atlaesian bot.

Ruby and Velvet shared a horrified look.

The doctor cleared his throat, "You two may not, under any circumstances, share what you have learned just now, with anyone. Do you understand?"

Both girls nodded.

"Good. That's good," he looked at his wrist, "I have to go, I'll keep you in the loop on mister Steele's condition."


	10. Treatment

**Beacon Academy - Medical Wing**

Ozpin stood in the observation room connected to Ridian's isolation chamber.

With him stood general Ironwood and a short, balding man with a thick gray beard.

Within the chamber a unit of older AK-130's were disconnecting the machines monitoring Ridian's vitals and preparing him for the move to the reinforced room containing the prototype aura transfer device.

* * *

In a nearby waiting room sat nine concerned students.

Yang had been allowed very limited mobility by her doctor, which she made full use of. Her team, along with JNPR had once more been excused from class for the day.

Velvet, on the other hand, had simply decided skip her classes, she felt Ridian's well being was more important than being in classes she could easily catch up later.

The tension was oppressive, everyone coated in a grim silence, praying for the doctor to walk through the door and deliver hope.

They had been forbidden from seeing Ridian until he had awoken, the risk of injury far too high.

So they waited, trapped in a feedback loop of fear, dread, and despair, until one of them cracked.

"Ugh, screw this!" Yang suddenly shouted. "Are we really just going to sit here and mope? I don't like the guy, but I'll admit that he's probably even tougher and more stubborn than I am!" she vented, "It's gonna take a lot more than this to put him down. I mean, we've all seen his scars, he survived all this time without even having his aura unlocked! For crying out loud, he beat me in a fight in ten seconds flat! Do you really think he won't make it? Really?"

Everyone stared at Yang slack-jawed.

Nora snorted, a giant grin forming, "Man, he totally kicked your butt, didn't he?" she giggled.

Yang rolled her eyes, "Of course that's what you focus on, Nora. I bet twenty lien you can't beat him in an arm wrestle," she shot back.

"You're on!"

Nobody said anything, content to let the two heavy-hitters continue bantering.

* * *

The hours had passed slowly, tension creeping back into the waiting room.

They'd taken turns, venturing out to grab snacks and drinks, or to ask the duty nurse for any updates about Ridian's condition.

Yang had returned to her bed under strict doctor's orders to receive her medication.

Velvet had received a call from her team leader, followed by a verbal reaming for skipping class.

She'd actually argued back for the first time since being placed on Coco's team, making it clear where her priorities were.

Coco had, to her credit, listened to Velvet, and understood her desire to be there for a friend.

The occupants of the waiting room had soon thereafter increased to eleven with Velvet's team arriving to support her.

* * *

It was approaching evening by the time anything notable happened.

Everyone, including Yang who had staggered in groggily in the late afternoon, was sitting in chairs appropriated from other rooms to make up the needed number.

Everyone jumped when the lights began to flicker and flash, followed by a minute of darkness as the backup generators spun up.

Worry spread through the group. Ruby and Velvet rose from their seats and rushed to the nurses station, desperate to make sure Ridian was alright.

The nurse didn't have any new information for them, and had her work cut out trying to calm the two frantic girls.

Her efforts were in vain as the building shook, knocking them to the floor.

Ruby and Velvet scrambled to their feet, dashing back to their teams.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - ****Sub Level 3**

The aura transfer was smooth at first, the donor an unfortunate man in his early thirties who'd been stung several times by a deathstalker and had received medical attention too late.

The process was slow, the aura barely a trickle, but it was flowing, until it wasn't.

When the donor's aura had reached the three-quarter mark, Ridian's aura flared and lashed out at the foreign soul.

The machine had compensated for this and slowed the transfer even further.

This cycle repeated several times, until eventually it could no longer adjust to Ridian's violent soul.

Doctor Polendina had unsuccessfully attempted to shut the machine down after the second time Ridian's soul had lashed out.

He'd ordered the rooms evacuated after the fourth.

After the eighth the device could no longer sustain a stable transfer.

The ninth time Ridian's aura flared, the containment field failed, and the aura wave struck the machine, causing a catastrophic failure.

The machine detonated, rocking the entire campus, the backlash instantly killing the comatose hunter.

Ridian was more fortunate, his pod being blown open and the explosion carrying his body clear of the worst of the shrapnel.

The roof had collapsed shortly after, burying the deceased hunter and the remains the prototype machine.

Ozpin was the was the first one to reach the bloodied, limp form of Ridian, partially buried under a slab of stone.

Ozpin heaved a sigh of relief, when he saw the young man's chest rising and falling.

James Ironwood was next on the scene, spotting Ozpin hovering over Ridian, "Ozpin! Is he alive?"

"He is, by the grace of the brothers, help me free him."

Ironwood took position at the raised part of the slab, lifting with his augmented strength, allowing Ozpin to pull Ridian free, once the young man was clear of the debris, James released the heavy slab.

Stepping back he surveyed the damage, most of the chamber had collapsed, and what remained was covered in a fine layer of choking dust.

He gave a silent prayer for the fallen hunter, and moved to help Ozpin evacuate Ridian.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Medical Wing**

Ridian lay quietly in his bed, his scarred flesh motionless, the only movement smooth rhythmic breaths.

Two forms were slumped in chairs next to the bed, having fallen asleep waiting for him to come around.

Occasionally a flicker of green energy would jump across his body and disappear under his skin.

He moved without warning, no gentle awakening, or slow, groggy attempt at returning to sleep, he was simply asleep one moment and awake the next.

Ridian scanned the room, cautious of the unfamiliar envenvironment.

It took him a few seconds to realize where he was.

He delved into his memory to find a reason for him to wake up in a hospital bed.

He recalled his visit to Yang, and the aftermath of his failed apology.

In an instant he was on his feet, tearing the sensor pads and I.V. needle from his skin.

The monitors sounded their alarms, waking the two slumbering girls.

By the time they came to their senses, Ridian was gone.

A nurse appeared a few seconds later, to an empty bed and two confused girls, "What happened? Where did he go?"

Ruby sputtered, "I don't know, I didn't even see him get up."

Velvet gave a similar response.

The nurse rushed out of the room, followed by Ruby and Velvet.

* * *

It took a few minutes for Ridian to reach the room Yang had been in, only for him to find it empty.

He extended himself into the nearest network node, searching for Yang's medical records, which showed that she had been discharged two days prior, to his confusion.

He understood when he checked the discharge date, ten days after his last memory.

He found his own record, which explained his lost time. He read further into the document, intent on clarifying his circumstances.

What he found was not what he had expected, and he sought out his aura, the feeling of his faint life force being unaltered by the experiment brought some comfort.

He left the building in search of Yang, his single-mindedness blinding him to the darkened sky and the glittering stars.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Dormitories**

Weiss was not a happy heiress, she was struggling to get used to the return of Yang's obnoxious snoring, and now some idiot was knocking at the door!

She groaned and pulled herself out of bed and shuffled to the door.

She tore the door open and glared out at a hospital gown.

Her eyes traced up, finding a scarred face and a pair of glowing eyes, "Ridian? What are you doing? It's two in the morning!"

He blinked, "Oh. I apologize," his voice was distorted, coming from the scanner next to the door. "I didn't notice the time. I'll see you at breakfast."

With that he turned and walked off.

"Who was that?" Blake muttered.

"Ridian."

"Oh."

Niether of them were alert enough to register what had just happened, too concerned with going back to sleep.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student ****Cafeteria**

Ruby was exhausted, she'd spent every waking moment since Ridian disappeared searching for him to no avail.

It seemed to her that he had simply vanished.

At least until he sat down next to Blake with a mountainous tray of assorted breakfast foods.

"Good morning, everyone," he greeted as he tore into his meal, "I apologize again for my intrusion last night, Weiss."

Weiss' face twisted in confusion for a moment, and she looked to Blake, who had a similar expression.

A light went off in both their heads, both of them turning to stare at Ridian.

Weiss took a breath, "Don't worry about it, what did you want last night, anyway?"

"I wanted to speak with Yang about what happened between us," he explained, "and make amends for my failure in my duty."

His last words caught Ruby's attention, "Your duty? What do you mean?"

Ridian stopped eating and met the gazes of those at the table, "One of the conditions of my being here was that I would provide support and protection to team RWBY and JNPR. When I hurt Yang I failed in my duty, and only further strayed when I lashed out at her. I must atone for my sins."

Yang cleared her throat, "Look, Ridian, I don't trust you. Not after what you told me."

Ridian met her gaze, "I understand. I have done things that make me a monster, and I don't expect you to ignore that, but we must find a way to work together. I refuse to be derelict in my duties any longer."

Yang scoffed, "You think that makes it any better? Stop fooling yourself."

Ridian clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath, "For my people, duty is everything. To fail is to die," he stated. "I would lay down my life for any of you, if it meant all of you would be safe. When I agreed to come here I bound my life to yours. I don't care if you hate me, so long as you understand that I will always be a part of your life. From the moment we met until the last star in the sky fades, I am your guardian, monster or no."

No one spoke, the words of Ridian's pledge weighing heavily on their shoulders.

Ridian finished his breakfast, then addressed the group, "Please let me know when you plan to act on the information I gave to Blake, I will assist you in any way you may need."

He stood, taking his tray with him.

* * *

**A/N: It's been a while since my last upload, I hit a bit of writer's block.**

**Ten chapters! I can't believe I've made it this far, and it's all because of your support and encouragement.**

**I ****have to say,** **Sm0keyPanda, you have no idea how big of a deal having my work be compared to the likes of Coeur**** Al'Aran. You had me smiling like an idiot for two days. Thank you so much.**

**I'm planning to have Ridian play with his powers soon, and pull out some of his old hardware, bit I'm not sure what I want him to use, so if you want to see anything in particular, let me know, and I'll pick out a few of them.**


	11. Weapons of War

**Beacon Academy- Student Cafeteria**

Velvet whimpered slightly, the grip on her ear painfully tight.

"What's the matter, freak? Does it hurt?" jeered Cardin Winchester, tugging on the ear in his grip.

"Ow!" Velvet yelped, "Please, it hurts," he pulled harder, bringing tears to her eyes.

Cardin sneered, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know animals were so pathetic."

The sound of a scroll ringing interrupted Cardin. He stopped pulling, and fished out his scroll and put it to his ear, "Who is this?"

Velvet watched as Cardin's face contorted into anger, "Oh yeah?" he taunted into the scroll, "What are you gonna do about it?"

The scroll beeped twice, and Cardin lowered it to look at the screen, a heavily distorted voice coming from the scroll's speaker, "Consider this your only warning, Cardin Winchester, I am always watching."

The screen flashed red before detonating in his hand.

Shards of glass and metal peppered his face, bouncing harmlessly off his aura. The hand holding the scroll, however, was less fortunate, having received the full force of the explosion. His skin was torn to ribbons and badly burned by dust, along with shrapnel buried deep in his flesh.

Cardin screamed in pain, his team huddling around him, panicked by the sight of so much blood.

Velvet quickly took charge, instructing the three boys to take Cardin to the infirmary quickly.

As they bustled their injured leader away, Ridian approached, "Are you alright, Velvet?"

Velvet slammed into his torso wrapping her arms around him, she held him for a few moments, before pulling back with a deep frown, "Where were you?! I looked everywhere for you! You can't just disappear like that! Do you know how worried I was?!"

"I apologize, it was not my intention to worry you," he said. "I wasn't thinking clearly last night, I needed to resolve something."

Velvet wasn't satisfied with that, "That's not good enough! You might feel okay, but you still have that... Stuff in you!"

Ridian cocked his head, "Stuff? What do you mean?"

"The metal stuff!" Velvet hissed, "The doctors don't even know what it is!"

Ridian stepped back and lifted a hand. A few seconds later a small ball of the black and green material grew from his palm and floated above it.

He looked at Velvet, "You mean this?" Velvet nodded, eyeing the sphere warily.

"This is nothing to be concerned about," he dismissed, "it has been a part of me for a very long time, it cannot hurt me."

Velvet sighed, still upset, but realizing she wouldn't get much further scolding Ridian, "Fine," she acquiesced.

She blinked as a realization hit her. "It was you, wasn't it? You blew up Cardin's scroll."

"Yes. I asked him nicely to let you go first."

Velvet scowled, "You could have killed him if he didn't move that scroll from his face! Why would you do that?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"

Ridian met her gaze evenly, "I sent him an image to make him lower the scroll. Nothing that happened was out of my control. Even the detonation was tuned to damage only his hand. All of it was a warning to him, and an effective one."

"What happens if he ignores you so called 'warning'?" Velvet asked, "What will you do then?"

"I will deal with him appropriately," Ridian answered coldly. "His poor behavior will cease, one way or another."

"You mean kill him, don't you?" Velvet asked, dread washing over her.

"If I must. But only after exhausting all other options."

"Are you insane?! Do you realize what you're saying?!" Velvet demanded, horrified by how easily Ridian could consider murdering someone, "How can you be okay with that?!"

Ridian was unmoved, "He would not be the first, and certainly not the last to die at my hand."

Velvet felt sick, "You-you've killed people?" she asked quietly.

"More than I can count. More than I wish to count."

"I-I don't believe you!" she sputtered in terror, "You're not a murder! You can't be!"

Ridian averted his gaze, "If only that were true, but the blood I've spilled could fill oceans."

"N-no, not you," Velvet murmured sinking to the floor, "please not you, you-you can't be..."

She flinched away when Ridian reached out to her.

He withdrew, standing up, "I'm sorry, Velvet," he said, his voice soft and hollow, "but I will not lie to you, even if you want me to."

He walked away in silence.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Workshop**

Crescent Rose lay on the workbench, stripped down to its base parts.

Ruby held the barrel in one hand and a long cleaning rod in the other, carefully working it through the barrel, clearing the rifling of any accumulated debris.

She had come to the workshop in an attempt to pull her mind away from what Yang and Blake had told her about Ridian.

She didn't want to believe that he was some kind of monster, but after seeing his encounter with Velvet at breakfast, it was becoming increasingly difficult.

So Ruby took her time maintaining her weapon, inspecting each piece for any dirt or signs of wear, wiping them down until every part was immaculately clean.

As she went through the process, something nagged at the back of her mind.

She pushed it aside and continued her work.

She sunk almost two hours into the deep clean of Crescent Rose, and was painstakingly reassembling it when she finally realized why she sensed something amiss, since she had entered the workshop she'd heard the sound of muffled gunfire coming from the attached testing range.

While Ruby put her beloved weapon back together, she paid closer attention as the shots sounded off, a perfect rhythm, one shot every second for four minutes, then a minute of quiet, and repeat.

Though disrupted by the walls and sound damping, Ruby could tell that with each cycle a different weapon was being fired.

Ruby's curiosity grew with every successive repetition. She couldn't think of anyone who would want to pick up anything but their own weapon, let alone more than twenty different ones.

She finished rebuilding Crescent Rose, the desire to find out who was at the range burning in her head.

Once her weapon was safely stowed, she crept up to the viewing window that looked out at the open air testing range.

She wasn't surprised to see Ridian standing at one of the booths, tables filled with various firearms arrayed around him.

She shifted to see his target, a large metal plate about a hundred meters downrange.

She watched as Ridian lifted a large rifle to his shoulder and began to fire, each round striking the same spot on the target.

With robotic precision Ridian fired, cycled the bolt and fired again, the rifle staying perfectly still the entire time. Reloading was equally efficient, Ridian ejecting the magazine and replacing it so smoothly that it didn't even delay the next shot.

At the end of the four minutes, Ridian made the rifle safe, placed it down and picked another weapon from the large variety on offer, repeating the process without error, every shot striking the thick metal sheet with perfect accuracy.

Ruby watched in awe as Ridian continued firing progressively larger guns, but through it all he was never pushed back by the recoil.

Eventually Ridian ran out of larger weapons to use, ending with something typically found mounted on the nose of a military bullhead.

With his options exhausted Ridian put down the anti-armor rifle and returned to the booth.

Ruby's brow creased in confusion as he held out his arms as though hip firing.

Her eyes widened when black fluid streaked with green emerged from his hands, forming a long, thick tube with an axehead at the end.

Ridian gripped the tube with his front hand, his other hand wrapping around the weapon's grip as cable extended from it, snaking up and around his back.

All of this was done in less than a minute, with the black liquid receding leaving behind dull gray metal supporting a transparent green tube.

Ridian shifted his stance slightly, pointing the barrel at the metal plate, a glow building in the transparent tube.

Ruby gasped as a bolt of viridian energy lanced out, slamming into the target, which crumbled into a pile of ash with a fading green glow.

With the destruction of the metal target Ridian finally seemed satisfied, lowering the weapons as the black and green liquid coated it.

The fluid retracted, drawing the form of the weapon with it, and disappeared back into Ridian's hands.

Ruby ducked out of view when Ridian turned toward the door, holding her breath as the door swung open.

Ridian walked past without looking her way, heading for the quartermaster's counter, "You can simply ask me if you want to know something, Ruby."

She jumped when his voice came from her scroll, and scrambled to follow, "Hey, wait up!"

Ridian slowed, letting Ruby catch up to him, "I take it you want to know what I just did out there?"

"Yeah!" Ruby responded, eagerly "Where did that gun thing come from? And what did it do to that target?"

"You are aware of the metallic substance in my body, yes?"

Ruby nodded, unbidden images of rolling, churning flesh coming to mind.

"That substance is called necrodermis," Ridian began. "It is a living metal, capable of nearly anything, including completely replacing flesh and blood, for a cost."

"A cost?" Ruby repeated, frowning, "What do you mean?"

"Undergoing the conversion burns away your mind" Ridian answered, "and in most cases your soul as well."

Ruby's face was filled with a horrified understanding, "That's what happened to you, isn't it?" she asked.

Ridian simply nodded.

Ruby wrapped her arms as far around him as she could, "Omigosh, I'm so sorry! It must have been horrible."

For his part Ridian stood still looking down at the girl wrapped around his hips, "Don't be," he said emotionlessly. "I volunteered for it. What's done is done, there's no point in crying now."

"W-why would you want something like that?!" Ruby almost yelled.

"It was preferable to the perpetual agony that our corrupted flesh was cursed with," Ridian answered. "Which would you prefer, a scant few decades of endless suffering, or an eternity free of pain and filled with purpose?"

"I-I don't know..." Ruby kept her face buried in Ridian's side, a single question burning in her head, "But how are you like this if that happened to you?"

"The answer to that question is complex, what of it I know at any rate."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd prefer not to explain it more than once. Gather everyone tonight and I will explain my past more clearly, and answer your questions."

"Okay," Ruby assented, "should I tell Velvet as well?"

"If you wish. In the meantime, I need to speak inform the quartermaster that I am finished on the range.

Ruby nodded and released Ridian.

As he walked away she remembered her original question, "Wait a second!" Ridian looked back at her. "What was that weapon? I've never seen anything like it before."

"It's called a Gauss Flayer. The most basic and widely used weapon of my people's military."

Ruby's eyes lit up, "How does it work? What do you use as a power source?" Ruby rattled off questions one after the other, giving Ridian no time to answer.

He pressed a single, slender finger to Ruby's lips, silencing her immediately, "Most of your questions I cannot answer, but I will give you what answers I can."

Ruby pouted behind Ridian's finger.

"Firstly, all Gauss weapons function in the same way, though at very different scales," he began, leading Ruby toward the quartermaster.

"I take it you understand the basic principles of magnetism," he questioned, "how a magnet attracts other magnetic material?"

"Yup!" Ruby replied eagerly.

"And how more powerful magnets can magnetize less magnetic material?"

"Uh-huh?" Ruby answered, wondering where Ridian was going with this.

"Good. All matter has a magnetic field, though it is far too weak for any normal magnet to affect it," Ridian finally began explaining. "A Gauss weapon fires a beam of hyper-dense magnetic energy capable of breaking the bonds that hold matter together, stripping anything it touches to atomic dust."

"Woah," Ruby murmured in awe. "That's kinda scary. What happens when it hits a person?"

"The same as what happens to anything else, they'd be stripped to atoms. From what I've seen it's extraordinarily painful and always lethal."

Ruby's face twisted from awe to horror, "That... I don't know what to say. I know you've done some really bad stuff, but I guess I didn't actually get it, you've had a really hard life, haven't you?"

"I disagree, my life before the transformation was a painful fight to even draw breath, yes, but after was easy, simple," he mused, "I received a directive and I carried it out, no need to think or struggle, just allow your body to do as ordered."

"And you were okay with that? To be controlled like a toy?"

"I didn't... Couldn't care," Ridian explained, "My whole species was driven into the bio-furnaces by our hatred for our pathetic mortal forms, and for those that denied us salvation, we cared little for the consequences."

"And now? Do you still hate your body?"

Ridian shook his head, "Your brother gods-" he intercepted Ruby's question, "yes they are real-" and continued when she settled, "did not return me to my former flesh. Instead they crafted a body that would be accepted here, while retaining many of the abilities granted by the necrodermis. They gave me the freedom to define my own purpose, though I have yet to find it."

Ruby smiled at that, "I'm glad you got a second chance, and hope you find happiness here."

"As do I."


	12. Understanding

**Beacon Academy - Student Workshop**

"You find what you're looking for?" the stout quartermaster asked when Ridian approached his desk.

Ridian nodded, "I did. I would like the Vacuan Hawk, three magazines, a holster, and two boxes each of shock, gravity and standard rounds, please."

"Sure thing, son, I'll be right back."

Ruby shot Ridian a confused look, "Why do you want a gun? You already have that 'flayer' thing."

"You cannot interrogate a pile of ash," he answered. "The gun is meant for less than lethal incapacitation."

"With a .50 caliber round?" Ruby questioned disbelievingly, "Unless they have aura, even a glancing blow would tear right through them!"

"I intend to modify the shock dust rounds to use a mass-reactive micro-blast to deliver the effects with minimal penetration," Ridian responded, "the other rounds will be modified for a similar effect against armored targets, should the need arise."

"What if they're in melee?" Ruby probed.

"With the control I have over the necrodermis in my body, I can armor myself against anything short of focused artillery or heavy directed energy weapons."

Ridian demonstrated by forming a large shield on one arm and a sword the length of Ruby's torso in the opposite hand, "I can also create some of the melee weapons of my people, all of which are lethal to anything smaller than a main battle tank. Is that satisfactory?"

Ruby appraised the sword which, if not for the length of the blade, would be an axe.

The blade itself was a single piece of thick, black metal etched with glowing green, the ends a pair of quarter-circles with a straight edge joining them save for a missing piece near the hilt.

A shaft of the same metal joined the blade to the hilt, and was capped with an ornate, angular crown.

The hilt was similarly ornate, made of a golden metal with a glowing sigil just above the grip. A small blade jutted out opposite the primary blade, and a steel gray crescent blade formed the pommel.

Ruby hummed and nodded, turning her attention to the shield, which would cover Ridian's entire body when in position.

The shield had four shafts of dark gray metal extending from the large ornately etched boss with panels of etched black metal connected the shafts forming a coffin shape.

All of the markings glowed with viridian light.

Ruby gave a single short nod, "It'll work. I mean you're not going to go around killing people, right?"

"Not without reason, no," Ridian replied. "I have no desire to kill, but I will if I must. You will learn to do the same in time."

"I don't think I want to learn," Ruby frowned. "But I do get what you're saying, sometimes there is no other way, I don't like it, but who does?"

"Indeed," Ridian agreed, dismissing his weapons.

The quartermaster cleared his throat, "Here you go, son," he said, laying the requested items on the counter, "take good care of her and she'll take good care of you."

"Many thanks. I will."

Ridian picked up his new handgun, slipped it into its holster and clipped it to the inside of his waistcoat, slid the empty magazines into their pouches and stashed the boxes of ammunition in the large pockets of his cargo pants.

As Ridian turned to leave, Ruby called out to him, "Hey! Um, if you're not busy, we're going to have a couple rounds of Remnant at the library. You wanna come?"

Ridian bowed his head, "If you'll have me, I'll join you as soon as I put this," he gestured to his new armament, "away."

Ruby made a small, squeak of excitement, "Cool, I'll see you there!" and dissappeared in a cloud of petals.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Library**

Ridian sat with team JNPR, idly reading and listening to the commotion of team RWBY playing their board game.

He'd watched with mild amusement as Jaune had tried and failed to join the game, before Pyhrra rushed to his side to preempt his habit of speaking without thinking.

His attention was piqued again when two new scroll signatures approached, "'Sup, losers?" announced a blond monkey faunus.

"Hey Sun!" Ruby greeted in return.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake..." he trailed of as he spotted Ridian staring at him over Weiss' shoulder, "Uh, hi?"

Ridian rose from his seat and walked over, extending a hand, "Greetings, Sun Wukong, Neptune Vasilias, I am Ridian Steele, fire support and overwatch for teams RWBY and JNPR."

Sun frowned, "Where were you during the whole thing at the docks then?"

"I had yet to receive my assignment at the time," Ridian answered bluntly,staring down at Sun. "I will be involved in all future operations."

Sun shrugged, "Whatever you say, man," he replied.

The corners of Ridian's mouth dipped, "Excuse me?"

Sun waved a hand dismissively, "Nothing, you just don't look so tough to me."

"Sun, stop," Blake pleaded, seeing a flash of Ridian's teeth.

Sun shot Blake a confused look, "What? Nobody gets scars like that without being really weak, I mean c'mon."

Every one of the Beacon students shifted nervously.

Sun froze when he felt a hand on his shoulder and hot breath against his ear, "Two weeks ago I had been stranded, alone, in the Vacuan Desert for four months," a chilling voice hissed. "Those four months were a paradise compared to what I have seen," it continued. "There are horrors out there that would leave you and your precious aura as little more than a red smear on the ground," the grip on Sun's shoulder tightened and spun him around, plunging his gaze into twin pools of glowing viridian, "You know nothing of strength, nothing of survival. You mock my scars while you hide behind an aura and think yourself superior. You cannot even see your own weakness, nor how it obscures the truth of things."

Ridian released Sun and stepped back, "I'm going to find something to eat, if anyone cares to join me."

Sun looked at Blake, "You have to work with that psycho? Yikes!"

Blake glared, standing sharply, "I'm going to lunch."

"Blake? Hey!" Sun called, before turning to the others, "What's her deal?"

Weiss answered, a deep scowl on her face, "He was a combat slave, you ignorant fool, he's seen more fights than everyone here put together! He survived every single one of them without aura, and even now it's so weak that it doesn't even shield him! He's already done more to help us with the White Gang than you ever could! And then you come along and think you'll impress us by calling him weak and saying that he can't not help us! What do you think Blake's deal is?!" by the end of her tirade Weiss had a perfectly manicured nail jabbing Sun in the chest, "You're just lucky he didn't want to hurt you."

"Yeah right, I coulda taken him," Sun responded, brushing aside Weiss' hand.

"You wouldn't last five seconds against him," Yang interjected, "I didn't even last ten."

Sun stared at her in disbelief, "You're kidding, right?"

"Not even a little. He got me with one kick, and I needed surgery to relieve the pressure, or did you think I wanted to shave my hair off?"

Ruby felt she should throw her two lien in, "And that's only if he doesn't use his weapons," all eyes went to her, "I saw him on the range with one of them earlier, using a plate of military grade anti-ballistic armor, and it literally turned the entire plate to dust in one shot, he said it does the same thing to people."

Sun swallowed nervously, "I messed up, didn't I?"

Neptune put a pitying hand on his shoulder, "Man, you have no idea."

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Student Cafeteria**

Blake sat next to Ridian, picking at the baked salmon on her plate, trying to work out how to apologize for Sun.

She jolted when Ridian broke the silence, "How goes your investigation? Was my information of any use?"

Blake nodded, staring at her food, "We've hit a dead end trying to figure out their next move, but the intel you gave me was amazing. As far as we've been able to tell they've been stockpiling all the dust they've stolen, but we don't know where."

"I see. Perhaps we should consider interrogating one of their members, they will likely have information we could not obtain otherwise."

"I wouldn't bother," Blake sighed, "anyone who knows anything important is trained not to give it up and won't risk being caught."

Ridian considered Blake's words, "Is infiltration an option? If we could enter their operations we may be able to learn more about them."

Blake nodded, thoughtfully, "I think I can find where they're going to have their next recruitment meeting. Only problem is, I'd have to go in alone."

"Maybe not," Ridian said pulling back his lips with a finger, revealing sharp, inhuman teeth, "Would these get me in the door?"

Blake stared at the wickedly sharp teeth, "Y-yeah, they'll let you in."

"Very good," he went back to eating, "I look forward to working with you."

Blake nodded, "Me too, I'm glad you've got my back."

"Of course, I just hope one day Yang will come to feel the same."

"Look, Ridian, I don't know if anyone's told you, but you make people instinctively uncomfortable," Blake explained. "It's not anything specific about you, you're just... Off-putting. Yang's a very intuitive person, she relies on her instincts more than most, and with you..."

Ridian set his cutlery down, "I did not know I had such a pronounced effect on you all, I suspect it may be due to the damaged nature of my soul. I do not recall the name of the phenomenon, though it is not unheard of, but I did not think I was afflicted."

Blake put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, it's not as bad as it sounds, and besides, once you're used to it you barley even notice. Just give her time and show her she can trust you, she'll come around."

"Thank you once again, Blake, for your sage advice. You remind me of the Crypteks, they gave counsel to the Phaerons, the leaders of our people."

Blake smiled, "Happy to help. Speaking of," her smile was replaced with a thoughtful frown, "what happened between you and Velvet this morning? The way she talked about you, I thought you were good friends."

Ridian slumped in his seat, "I fear I've done something truly foolish. I revealed to her the darker parts of my past. She... Didn't take it well."

"Why did you tell her?" Blake questioned.

"She asked why I was indifferent to the idea of killing someone after I told her what would happen to Cardin Winchester if he could not be swayed of his prejudice."

"Oh. Wait, the scroll, that was you?"

"It was a warning. I will not let such pettiness continue," Ridian stated.

"You don't think that maybe you were too extreme?" Blake asked.

"I told her it would be an act of last resort, done only if all else fails," Ridian looked at the ceiling. "I meant it to say that I would do anything in my power to help her, even if that means taking a life. When she reacted poorly I felt that I should distance myself from her, ease the misplaced guilt she would suffer if I kept my word."

Blake gaped at him, "I don't... You really have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"Did I give the impression that I did?" Ridian retorted, "Before coming here, I hadn't actually interacted with another person in almost a quarter of a galactic cycle."

"Really? You're being hyperbolic," Blake dismissed sarcastically.

Ridian met her gaze evenly, "How old do you think I am, Blake?"

She looked at him closely, "I don't know, maybe twenty-five?"

"When I entered a bio-furnace, maybe, but I gave up my mortal body more than sixty million years ago by your calendar."

He held out a hand, black liquid forming a humanoid figure in his palm.

Blake watched in awe as the liquid withdrew, leaving behind a silver model about the length of her forearm.

Ridian lay the model on the table, "This is what I was before your brother gods found me," he gestured at the figure. "What you see before you is a Necron warrior, a mindless drone made of living metal, slave to its Phaeron's will."

Blake said nothing, taking in the disturbing appearance of Ridian's former self.

The model depicted a hunched, robotic skeleton with a glowing green marking on its chest and similarly iridescent eyes.

It carried a strange weapon, a long glowing tube, with a grip connected to a bulky battery-shaped box at one end and a crown shaped opening with an axehead affixed to it on the other.

Blake looked at Ridian, "This... This was you?" she whispered.

"For more than sixty million years, yes, that was me. As you can see however, that is no longer the case, though I still am not human. I suppose I am what my people imagined we would be when we entered the bio-furnaces."

"H-how?" Blake asked, unsure of whether she truly wanted an answer.

"I was cast adrift, lost to the void, during a battle between our vessel and another," he explained, reabsorbing the model. "I drifted for centuries, alone, until your gods of light and darkness stumbled across me in the endless space between worlds," he placed a hand on his chest. "They made my body anew and sent me here, for what purpose I cannot say, but they gave me a second chance, and I do not intend to waste it."

Blake grasped Ridian's hand, "You're not alone anymore, there are people here who care about you. Velvet cares about you, what you did scared her, but I doubt it had the effect you intended," she squeezed the hand in her grip, "give her time and I'm sure she'll come to you, as long as you don't push her away further."

Ridian hung his head, "I simply wish for her to be able to live happily. She was the first to try and understand me."

"Then you have to let her. The way she smiled when she spoke about you, you helped her more than you understand," Blake gave him a gentle smile. "You're still learning how to be a person, and it won't be easy, but part of being your own person is understanding others. It will come with time, and I am always willing to help you if you need."

"Thank you, Blake."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the re-upload, I messed up while testing something.**

**While you're here, I'd like to ask you to leave any questions you think RWBY and JNPR would want to ask Ridian in a review, and I'll do my best to have him answer them. **

**As always, thanks for your continued support.****I'll see you next time.**


	13. Answers

**Beacon Academy -**** Student Cafeteria**

Blake and Ridian ate in a comfortable silence, taking in the simple pleasure of a shared meal.

As time passed they were joined by their teammates, Yang sitting to Blake's other side, Weiss and Ruby taking the spots opposite. Jaune and Pyhrra sat next to Ruby while Ren and Nora took up the seats alongside Ridian.

Sun and Neptune chose not to join, to everyone's secret relief.

Ruby cleared her throat, garnering the attention of those present, "Since we're all here, and we've got a bit of time, I was thinking we should work on getting to know Ridian a bit better. I'm pretty sure we all have questions," she looked at the man in question, "Ridian, do you feel up to answering them?"

Ridian nodded, "I will answer your questions to the best of my ability."

Ruby clapped eagerly, "Great! Who wants to go first?"

Pyhrra politely raised a hand, speaking only when Ridian nodded to her, "I'm curious about the strange metal in your body, when I used my semblance on it, it reacted as though it was alive. What is it?"

"You are correct that it is, in a sense, alive. It is called Necrodermis," Ridian answered, summoning a small amount into his hand. "Created to give physical form to our false gods, it forms the foundation of all Necrontyr technology."

Ren held up his hand, "Who are the Necrontyr? I've never heard of them."

"You wouldn't have. They were consumed by the C'tan approximately sixty million years ago," a stunned silence fell over the table, "I will likely be the last living example to exist."

Ren shook his head, "That's impossible, humanity didn't exist that long ago."

"It did not," Ridian agreed, "but the Necrontyr did. You are not the sole intelligent species in the universe. Countless species lived and died before you, and many more will come after."

Nora narrowed her eyes, "So you're an alien?"

"In every meaningful way, yes. Your brother gods brought me to Remnant from a different universe."

Jaune scratched his head, "Hold on, a different universe? That doesn't make sense."

Ridian used the necrodermis in his hand to form two spheres, separated by a churning amorphous wall, "These two spheres represent your universe and mine. Between them, outside of them, is the Warp, a place without the rules of normal space, a realm of chaos made manifest, and as such," a series of glowing channels opened in the cloud, "a place where one can find pathways that cross the otherwise immutable barriers between existences."

"So you're saying gods of light and darkness are real, that they crossed this 'Warp', found you, and sent you here?" Weiss questioned, her voice dripping with skepticism.

"Why would I lie to you?" Ridian retorted, "I volunteered to answer your questions, if I did not wish to tell you the truth I would merely refuse to speak. I do not lie."

Weiss huffed, "Fine, but why you? An entire universe filled with life, and they pick an alien whose soul is so damaged that it's barely there? Why?"

"I do not know, we never communicated," Ridian shrugged slightly. "They took me into the Warp, built a mortal body for me, and threw me from the Warp onto Remnant."

Yang's brow furrowed, "A mortal body? What does that mean?"

Ridian called forth the model of his previous form, "This is what I was before, a mindless, undying tool of war and death."

Everyone stared, transfixed as the model became animate, stepping from Ridian's hand and marching along the table in front of them while he continued, "There were trillions of us, but perhaps only a few hundred that retained even the spark of a soul."

"What happened to them?" asked Weiss.

"You'll have to be more specific," Ridian replied, "countless things have happened to the Necrontyr and later the Necron. Which event do you want to know about?"

"I mean, what happened to your souls?" Weiss corrected.

"Ah. Several centuries after the Necrontyr reached the stars, we encountered aa race called the Old Ones, who had mastery over interstellar travel and genetic manipulation, two technologies we had desperately needed.

"Our people were fractured, the Phaerons ruling their dynasties according to their whim, often in direct contradiction to the orders of the Silent King, until we learned that the Old Ones were refusing to aid us."

"Why didn't they want to help you?" Ruby interrupted.

"If the Necrontyr were to modify our genes enough to repair the damage done to them by our home world, we would be so far removed as to be essentially a new species," Ridian recounted, his voice maintaining a perfect monotone. "The Old Ones believed that all life was to be preserved, and our genetic correction would be tantamount to the extermination of our race, and so they denied us.

"We took their refusal as a declaration of war, all the splintered factions came together against our new common foe, and so began the War in Heaven."

"As much as I enjoy a good story," Weiss cut him off, "I'm failing to see the answer to my question,"

Ridian stared her down, "What you asked about is intrinsically tied to the history of my people. If it suits you better, I can simplify it for you, though I will likely end up telling you all of this in answer to your following questions."

Weiss sighed, "I have an assignment to finish, so I'd appreciate the abridged version, if you don't mind."

Ridian gave a simple nod, "The Necrontyr unwittingly sacrificed their souls for immortality and the power to defeat their enemies."

Weiss frowned, "Hm. I see what you mean about more questions but, thankfully, they can wait. For now," she snagged Ruby by the hood and hauled her away, "we have work to do, good day."

Ridian looked around the table, "Does anyone have any topics they wish to discuss?"

Yang lifted a hand, "So... What do you do for fun?"

Ridian raised an eyebrow, "I've been conscious and self-aware for only a few days, I haven't had the opportunity to truly relax."

Yang winced "Ouch. Alrighty, we're gonna have to do something about that," she looked to Blake. "We're heading down to Vale tomorrow, right?"

Blake nodded, "Yeah."

"Sweet," Yang grinned. "You're coming with big guy, we can all 'Yang' out and have a good time."

Everyone at the table groaned.

Ridian cocked his head, brows furrowed, "Yang out?" he blinked. "Oh. I see. Very clever."

Yang snorted into her fist, "Oh man, your face!" she wheeze, failing to suppress her growing laughter, "You looked like a confused puppy!" her laughter slowly spread to the others, "Oh Dust, I can't breathe!"

Ridian caught Yang's attention when he straightened up, seeming almost regal apart from the small smirk of his face.

"Woof," he delivered without inflection, sending those gathered into further hysterical laughter.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I had an idea for a bit of community interaction, but it didn't really work out.****I will admit this was mostly filler. The plot will pick back up next chapter, so don't worry about that.****If you've got any questions for Ridian leave me a review. Heck leave me a review anyway, it lets me know you're still enjoying my work.**


	14. Shop 'Til You Drop

**Beacon-Vale Transit Airship**

Ridian stared out the window of the airship, watching the Forever Fall roll by below.

"It's quite the sight, isn't it?" Blake said, standing next to him.

"Indeed. I have never seen so much life at peace before, it's quite inspiring," Ridian agreed with a small upward twitch of his lips. "What are our plans for the day?"

Blake gave a small smile, "We've got a few quick errands to run, then we each came up with an idea of what we think might be fun for you."

"May I know what you all had in mind?" Ridian asked.

"No can do, big guy," Yang answered, sauntering over with Ruby and Weiss in tow, "part of the fun is in the anticipation."

Ridian readied to object, before nodding, "Very well, I look forward to seeing what you have in store for me."

"That's the spirit!" Yang cheered, slugging him in the shoulder.

Ridian didn't budge, and Yang winced, shaking her hand, which felt like she'd punched an ursa without her aura, "Ow. What the heck?"

"Apologies," Ridian bowed his head, "it seems that my affliction has become more pronounced."

"Huh? What affliction?"

"Due to the unique nature and weakness of my soul, it appears to act not as a shield or healing factor, but rather as a limited null field to the aura of others," he explained. "I think the effective area may have grown past my body as a result of the treatment I received, or my attack would have done far more damage during our match, Yang."

Yang swallowed, "That's a scary thought."

"Quite," Ridian said, noting the large defensive wall separating the forest and the fortress city of Vale.

* * *

**Vale - Commercial District**

The first item on team RWBY's itinerary was a collection from Blackwell Smith's Arms 'n Ammo, a small, family run, specialty equipment store.

Ruby, of course, eagerly examined the latest stock while her custom shells were prepared.

The others milled about the store, casually browsing the wares while Ridian spoke with the young woman behind the counter about what was needed to produce one's own rounds.

'"Well, if you're going to be developing your own rounds," she said, pulling out a catalogue, "your best bet would be the Atlas-tec RLM-500," she flipped through the pages, finding the listing, "though it will set you back a few thousand lien. If you don't have that kinda money, there's always the Valeforce SP-150, it's a little outdated, but it's got most of the important stuff, and for only four hundred lien!"

Ridian tapped his chin in thought, "I see. If it's no trouble, I'll take the Atlas-tech," he decided pulling out a card with Beacon's logo on it.

* * *

With their business finished, the group made their way to their next stop, Tukson's Book Trade.

Blake made a beeline toward her preferred series, aiming to purchase the latest release, Ruby and Yang took to the comic books while Ridian picked through the science-fiction section.

Weiss followed Ridian, finding great entertainment questioning him about the validity of some of the concepts and ideas put forth by authors.

In the end Ridian decided on a large collection that was well regarded on Dust-net forums, while Weiss took the one that had the least inaccuracies to Ridian's knowledge.

* * *

The final stop was a specialist clothier, Whitney Smith's Apparel 'n Armor, owned by Blackwell's eldest daughter.

According to Ruby, the team needed a new set of combat gear for their next 'mission' against Torchwick and the White Fang.

Ridian agreed that less conspicuous attire would be a good idea.

He agreed less with their choices.

"I fail to understand how this," he gestured to the clothes, "would make it any more difficult to identify you."

"Well... Huntsman usually wear the same gear all the time," Ruby tried to defend, touching her fingers together, "so we figured different outfits would kinda make us... Not look the same?"

"On that we agree. What I question is why you've chosen something so similar to your typical attire?" Ridian questioned, "The purpose of a disguise is to be distinctly separate from your true identity. These undeniably fail in that regard."

Ruby looked at the arrayed outfits, and any arguments she had fled, her shoulders slumped, and she let out a quiet moan.

Yang frowned at Ridian, "Big talk for a literal death robot. I doubt you ever needed to hide in your life."

Ridian raised a brow, "I may not have needed to, but that doesn't mean I never did. An ambush is often more effective than a direct assault."

"He's got a point, Yang," Ruby chimed in.

Yang sighed, "Fine... You can pick our disguises, big guy."

"I would rather you understand the principles of subterfuge and use your own discretion," he looked at Blake, "you likely have some experience in this regard, so tell me, what is the most important thing to keep in mind when disguising yourself?"

Blake shot him a dirty look, "Don't stand out."

"Indeed," Ridian nodded, ignoring her glare. "As an exercise, each of you pick something that masks your partner's most notable feature."

Weiss folded her arms, "As an exercise? Do we look like children to you?"

"Yes, you do," Ridian responded.

Weiss sneered at him, "How do you plan to disguise yourself, then? You definitely stand out more than any of us."

"You will see, when the time comes," he answered vaguely.

"I think we'd all like to know now," Weiss insisted.

Ridian looked to the others, each voicing their own curiosity, "If you-"

He was cut off by the front door of the store slamming open, followed by gunfire.

"Everybody on the ground!" ordered one of the three masked gunmen.

Everyone except for Ridian complied.

"Hey freak!" one of the men approached him, "Are you deaf?! Get on the ground!" the gunman slammed the butt of his rifle into Ridian's gut.

Ridian didn't budge, staring at the man, "Are you... robbing me?"

The man put the muzzle of his gun to Ridian's chest, "That's right freak-show! Now lie the fuck down and I won't give you a new breathing hole!"

Three loud shots rang through the store, and the three would-be robbers fell to the floor.

* * *

**Vale - V.P.D. Headquarters**

"Do you have any idea what you've done!?" the detective shouted at Ridian, "You murdered three auraless civilians! Without even trying to de-escalate, no less!"

Ridian ignored her, staring blankly at a wall while she stalked around the room, raging at him.

Eventually she ran out of obscenities to hurl at Ridian and slammed her hands on the table next to him, "Are you even listening to me?!"

"No."

The detective grabbed his collar and attempted to haul him from his seat, "You think this is funny?! Those deaths are on your head!"

Ridian remained unphased, "They are not the first, and they won't be the last. If there's nothing else, Detective Ochre, I'll be on my way now," he stood, letting the aura-damping handcuffs fall onto the table while the detective stumbled back.

The digital lock clicked and the door to the interview room swung open, and Ridian walked out, ignoring the detective's shouting.

* * *

**A/N:****Sorry for the long wait everyone, I had a bad stint of writer's block, but hopefully that's over now.****Anyway, I hope you're all still enjoying Ridian's story, I hope to have some more for you a bit quicker than this one.****As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave me a review and let me know what I can do better. **


	15. Consequence

**Vale - V.P.D Headquarters**

Ruby was numb.

Her ears rang with a sound only she could hear, drowning out the words of the officer sitting across from her.

The scene from the tailor played on repeat in her head.

Three loud shots, three pairs of glazed eyes on slack faces.

She took a mouthful of water from the bottle she'd been given, though she didn't remember when.

"-se?" the officer's voice tried to breach the haze over her mind.

She swallowed trying to wash away the taste of bile.

"Miss Rose?" the officer probed.

She hadn't really believed Ridian when he'd told her he had killed before, but the ease with which he'd taken the lives of those men, the complete lack of hesitation, had made the truth perfectly clear.

"Miss Rose, did you hear me?" the officer asked again, touching Ruby's arm gently.

Ruby snapped to attention, "Eep!" she squeaked, surprising the officer. She took a breath, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I just want to know about your friend Ridian," she reminded.

"I don't really know him, he got put on our team at the start of the semester," Ruby explained, "He's super strong though, even for a huntsman."

The officer nodded, making a note on her scroll, "Do you know why he did what he did? Any ideas could be helpful,"

Ruby was silent for a moment, "Maybe he thought he was protecting us," she said, "He told us he was alone for a very long time, so maybe he was scared to lose his new friends?"

The officer nodded again and made another note, "Can you tell me where he's from?"

"I don't think he even knows where he's from, but before Beacon, he mentioned being in the Sanus desert for a while, does that help?"

"Yes, you've been a great help, if we have any more questions we'll be in contact."

Ruby gave a small nod, standing to leave.

* * *

**Beacon**** Academy - Ozpin's Office**

"You told me you would keep him under control!" raged General Ironwood.

"There were... Extenuating circumstances."

Ironwood blinked, "Exten- Do you hear yourself? That _thing_ is a menace. It's already killed three people, how many more before you contain it?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure Mr Steele can be contained for any appreciable amount of time," Ozpin replied solemnly.

Ironwood frowned, "What do you mean he can't be contained? Why not just place him in an anti-aura cell?"

"Because as far as we can tell, none of the abilities he possesses require aura, and that isn't even taking into consideration the limitations of those abilities, none of which we know for certain."

"Are you suggesting we do nothing?! That we let that monster roam free?! We have to do something, anything, to keep it under control!"

Ozpin sighed, "I am open suggestions, James, but we cannot risk driving him to our enemies, the outcome would be... Catastrophic."

Ironwood was silent for a time, his eyes lighting up as an idea struck him.

He quickly explained his plan to Ozpin, "That could work, but it could just as easily turn him against us if we do not handle it delicately. I will begin preparations immediately."

* * *

**Downtown Vale - V.P.D Headquarters**

The air around team RWBY was tense as they waited for Ridian to be released from the interrogation room at the back of the station.

Each of them shuffled anxiously when the imposing figure of heir new teammate emerged, Ruby unconsciously moving behind Yang when his piercing green gaze fixed on her team.

His flat, metallic voice cut through the air like a knife, "You are all here. Good. We must return to Beacon, Headmaster Ozpin wishes to speak with you."

Yang stepped forward, fists clenched, "That's all you've got to say to us? No 'sorry for murdering three people in front of you'? Besides how do you even know that?"

Ruby fished out her buzzing scroll as Ridian turned his attention to Yang, "I will address your concerns later. For now you will comply with the headmaster's orders and return to Beacon immediately."

"And if we don't?" Yang hissed through clenched teeth.

"Then I will remain at your side until such a time as you do," he sated simply.

Any further arguments were cut off by Ruby, "Guys, that was Goodwitch, she said we have to go back to Beacon, now."

The remainder of team RWBY looked at Ridian confused.

He returned a blank stare, saying nothing.

Ruby huffed, "Let's go! Or do you want Goodwitch to get mad?!"

That shook the team from their stupor as they set off for the airship docks.

* * *

**Beacon** **Academy - Airship Docks**

Upon arrival team RWBY was met by both Ozpin and Ironwood, who promptly escorted Ridian to the headmaster's office, offhandedly dismissing the girls.

Once the men were out of sight the girls were approached by Goodwitch who bustled them into an unused lecture hall and away from the prying eyes and ears of their fellow students.

"Girls," Goodwitch began, her voice surprisingly gentle, "I understand that today's incedent must have been quite a shock to all of you, and this would normally only be addressed in your third year, but, thanks to Mr Steele's actions today, it has been decided that you must be given this lesson ahead of time."

"What lesson?" Ruby asked nervously.

Glynda sighed, "What do huntsmen and huntresses do?"

"They kill Grimm and fight bad guys!" Ruby answered brightly. Yang grinned at her sister, Weiss rolled her eyes but nodded, Blake frowned at Goodwitch, likely having guessed what was coming.

The professor smiled sadly, "If only it were so simple. As huntresses there will be times where you are forced to make a decision; to abandon one person to save a hundred, to take a human life to protect others, or to leave someone behind to make sure you complete the mission."

Ruby looked confused, "Why are you telling us this?"

"Because today is not the last time you will see death, you were lucky that your first experience with it was so clean."

Weiss stared slack-jawed at Goodwitch, "You call what we saw 'clean'? Those men were killed in cold blood!"

Glynda nodded, "Yes, what you saw in that shop were, without a doubt, some of the least horrific kills I have ever seen. Count yourselves fortunate that Mr Steele used modified dust rounds and not conventional ammunition, or the walls of that building would have received a new coat of red paint."

The girls were silent, fearful of, and thankful for Ridian's choice in arms.

* * *

**Beacon Academy - Ozpin's Office**

Ozpin sat at his table with a grim expression, Ironwood to his left with a furious scowl.

"Your actions today have caused quite a stir, Mr Steele," Ozpin began, "and I hope you understand just how precarious a position you've put yourself in."

Ridian tilted his head slightly, "I simply did what was asked of me, I acted to ensure that your students were not put in a position they were not equipped to resolve."

Ozpin's brow creased, "I'm afraid I don't see it that way, perhaps you could enlighten me?"

Ironwood scoffed and muttered under his breath.

"Those men were not as uncoordinated as they first appeared; while the one that approached me held everyone's attention, the other two were moving toward the civilians, likely to take hostages, and force the girls into an unwinnable situation. I understand their personalities enough to know that they would not have backed down, and likely would have forced the assailants into a corner and driven them to desperation. We know what would have come next."

Ironwood made to retort, but Ridian pre-empted him, "Open combat was also out of the question as team RWBY is not trained or equipped to engage in areas with a high risk of collateral damage, nor are they trained to fight auraless individuals.

"The moment they drew blood they would freeze, putting both themselves and the bystanders at risk. I took the most efficient path to containing the threat."

Ironwood was unconvinced, "And if I were to review the security footage, would it verify what you have told us?"

"To the untrained eye? No. I was only able to determine their intentions because I have used similar tactics to disrupt enemy lines."

Ozpin sighed, "We will make a careful review of the incedent, to ensure that you have told us the truth.

"That is not, however, the reason we called you here. We need your help."

Ridian fixed the Beacon headmaster with an intense gaze, "What do you need of me?"

"It has come to our attention that there are those who intend to target the the Vytal Festival, Vale and Beacon, to what end we are not sure, but we fear that any attack could cause a panic, drawing hordes of Grimm that -"

"What would you have me do?" Ridian cut him off, earning a glare from Ironwood, "My first priority is to safeguard teams RWBY and JNPR, and I will not step away from that task."

Ozpin nodded, "Our enemy may have infiltrated the student body, as such I want you to observe your fellow students, and report any unusual behavior to us."

"And if I perceive a clear and present threat to teams RWBY and JNPR?"

Ozpin thought for a moment, "Should that happen you are to neutralize the threat and report it to us immediately."

Ridian nodded, "Rules of engagement?"

Ironwood spoke up, "Try to take their leader alive for questioning, failing that terminate with as much discretion as possible."

Ridian nodded again, "Understood."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait.****Things should start picking up in the next chapter, though I don't know when that will be, I'll do my best to get it done as soon as I can.****Thank you all for your support, and don't forget to leave a review is there's anything you think could be improved, or I there's something you want to see in the future.****Until next time.**


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